Canberra Times (Australia)
January 1, 2008 Tuesday
Final Edition
Jill Jolliffe; in Dili
East Timor and Cuba are locked in a diplomatic face-off over the
defection of Cuban doctors to the United States.
Three doctors have been holed up in a safe house in the East Timorese
capital for two months after being granted political asylum by the US
embassy, but they have been unable to obtain exit documents from the
Timorese Government.
Cuban ambassador Ramon Hernandes Vasquez is demanding that the East
Timorese Government deport a fourth, Oriole Rodriguez Caceres, back
to Cuba, a demand refused by East Timorese Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa.
There are about 300 Cuban doctors working in East Timor, and 700 East
Timorese youths studying medicine in Cuba under a bilateral accord
signed with the previous Fretilin government of Mari Alkatiri in late 2005.
In two meetings with the Cuban ambassador just before Christmas, Mr
da Costa said he told him the Timorese Government would not deport Dr
Caceres, the seventh Cuban doctor to defect since the scheme began in
late 2005. In August, another defector transited through Australia on
American travel documents, and there is an unconfirmed report Cuba
has served a protest on Australia.
Contacted by The Canberra Times, the Cuban ambassador refused to
comment on the issue, saying it was an "internal affair of the
Timorese Government". He described as a "total lie" defectors'
accusations that their passports were taken from them and held by
Cuban authorities, and that their movements and contacts within Timor
were tightly controlled.
East Timor is considering resolving the impasse by approaching a
third country to accept the doctors, from which they could later
travel to America if they wished.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Police Conduct Operation Against Drugs and Trafficking of Women in Dili
January 3, 2008
UNMIT Press Release
Dili, Timor-Leste – On the evening of Wednesday 2 January, the UN Police (UNPol) Drug Taskforce, Dili District Police, and the Timorese National Police (PNTL) raided two bars in Dili as part of a successful operation to crackdown on activities related to illegal immigration, the sale of drugs, and possible human trafficking.
At the Mona Lisa Bar, police found evidence of drug usage and identified eight females who were suspected of involvement in prostitution. All eight were arrested for identification purposes, in connection with investigations into illegal immigration and possible human trafficking.
At the Moon Bar, 13 women and seven men, all foreign nationals, were arrested for identification purposes related to investigations into the trafficking of women. The managers of both bars were among the arrested.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) in Timor-Leste, Dr. Atul Khare, congratulated UNPol and the PNTL for the operation:
“A crucial part of UNMIT’s mandate is to ensure public security and support the Government in the consolidation of stability and the enhancement of a culture of democratic governance,†SRSG Khare said. “Accordingly, we will not allow such activities to flourish.â€
Many of the arrested women are thought to have entered the country illegally and police recovered evidence of forged or altered identification documents. Police teams are working in close collaboration with the Immigration Service to process the detainees through the criminal justice system.
UNMIT Press Release
Dili, Timor-Leste – On the evening of Wednesday 2 January, the UN Police (UNPol) Drug Taskforce, Dili District Police, and the Timorese National Police (PNTL) raided two bars in Dili as part of a successful operation to crackdown on activities related to illegal immigration, the sale of drugs, and possible human trafficking.
At the Mona Lisa Bar, police found evidence of drug usage and identified eight females who were suspected of involvement in prostitution. All eight were arrested for identification purposes, in connection with investigations into illegal immigration and possible human trafficking.
At the Moon Bar, 13 women and seven men, all foreign nationals, were arrested for identification purposes related to investigations into the trafficking of women. The managers of both bars were among the arrested.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) in Timor-Leste, Dr. Atul Khare, congratulated UNPol and the PNTL for the operation:
“A crucial part of UNMIT’s mandate is to ensure public security and support the Government in the consolidation of stability and the enhancement of a culture of democratic governance,†SRSG Khare said. “Accordingly, we will not allow such activities to flourish.â€
Many of the arrested women are thought to have entered the country illegally and police recovered evidence of forged or altered identification documents. Police teams are working in close collaboration with the Immigration Service to process the detainees through the criminal justice system.
Gusmao gives rebel chance to surrender
January 03, 2008
The Australian
Mark Dodd
EAST Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao will offer renegade army major Alfredo Reinado one more chance to surrender or face arrest, an option diplomats warn could carry considerable risk for Australia.
Diplomatic sources in Dili told The Australian a final peace offer by Mr Gusmao would be conveyed to the former military police commander within weeks.
But Major Reinado, wanted on charges of fomenting civil unrest and possession of firearms, has a new ally in former soldiers who have formed a protest group known as "petitioners".
Sources close to Mr Gusmao say his patience has run out with Major Reinado after he spurned two other peace offers in November and last month.
"Don't play with me, because sooner or later I will get angry," Mr Gusmao warned Major Reinado just before Christmas.
A 1000-strong Australian and New Zealand International Stabilisation Force has responsibility for the military in East Timor.
However, any request by the East Timor Government for their help would have to be carefully considered after last year's failed effort, which cost five Timorese lives and resulted in a community backlash against the Australian peacekeepers.
The East Timor Defence Force (F-FDTL) is understood to be reluctant to take on an enforcement role against Major Reinado.
"Politically, he's a much tougher egg to crack now he's got the petitioners," said one senor Western intelligence analyst based in Dili. "He now has several hundred (570) petitioners thinking he's the man, and those petitioners have very strong support in the western districts."
The petitioners, almost all western-born Loromonu people, comprise soldiers who mutinied in 2006 over claims they were unfairly treated by ethnic eastern-born commanders.
The Australian
Mark Dodd
EAST Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao will offer renegade army major Alfredo Reinado one more chance to surrender or face arrest, an option diplomats warn could carry considerable risk for Australia.
Diplomatic sources in Dili told The Australian a final peace offer by Mr Gusmao would be conveyed to the former military police commander within weeks.
But Major Reinado, wanted on charges of fomenting civil unrest and possession of firearms, has a new ally in former soldiers who have formed a protest group known as "petitioners".
Sources close to Mr Gusmao say his patience has run out with Major Reinado after he spurned two other peace offers in November and last month.
"Don't play with me, because sooner or later I will get angry," Mr Gusmao warned Major Reinado just before Christmas.
A 1000-strong Australian and New Zealand International Stabilisation Force has responsibility for the military in East Timor.
However, any request by the East Timor Government for their help would have to be carefully considered after last year's failed effort, which cost five Timorese lives and resulted in a community backlash against the Australian peacekeepers.
The East Timor Defence Force (F-FDTL) is understood to be reluctant to take on an enforcement role against Major Reinado.
"Politically, he's a much tougher egg to crack now he's got the petitioners," said one senor Western intelligence analyst based in Dili. "He now has several hundred (570) petitioners thinking he's the man, and those petitioners have very strong support in the western districts."
The petitioners, almost all western-born Loromonu people, comprise soldiers who mutinied in 2006 over claims they were unfairly treated by ethnic eastern-born commanders.
'Beyond school books'
Date: 02 Jan 2008
Source: United Nations Children's Fund
'Beyond school books'
President Jose Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste and Dr.
Rima Salah, former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF.
NEW YORK, USA, 2 January 2008 – Providing
education to children in regions and societies
affected by conflict – or emerging from it – is a
major challenge. Yet communities in
conflict-affected areas consistently rank
education as a high priority. And they
demonstrate astounding resourcefulness and
resilience in seeking out and providing schooling for their children.
Many emergency situations around the globe are
protracted conflicts that can take years or
decades to resolve. According to 'Progress for
Children,' the comprehensive statistical review
recently published by UNICEF, more than 40 per
cent of the world's estimated 39 million refugees
and displaced persons are young people.
Growing up in precarious and volatile situations
– and suffering from a lack of teachers,
materials and schools – displaced youths are
likely to be deprived of a quality education.
Educating refugee and displaced children
As the leader of Timor-Leste, the world's
youngest democracy, President Jose Ramos-Horta is
building and developing an education sector that
must reintegrate both returning refugees and internally displaced persons.
During a recent UN Radio discussion on education
in emergencies, Mr. Ramos-Horta spoke of the
Timorese community’s attitudes about schooling
since the country gained independence.
"There is an extraordinary desire, on the part of
the parents, but also on the youth, to go to school," he said.
Development and change
Like Mr. Ramos-Horta, Dr. Rima Salah has drawn on
both her personal experience and her research as
an anthropologist to inform her work as an
advocate for the human rights of refugee populations.
"Living in a refugee camp is really different
than living in a village, because a refugee camp
is a place surrounded by walls, and they know
that they cannot go out," said Dr. Salah.
Despite living conditions and physical obstacles
in displaced communities, both Dr. Salah and Mr.
Ramos-Horta spoke of the drive and determination
of young people to get an education. The Timorese
President stressed that development and change
will be furthered "through quality education,
which will take time to come about to really make this country move forward."
Source: United Nations Children's Fund
'Beyond school books'
President Jose Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste and Dr.
Rima Salah, former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF.
NEW YORK, USA, 2 January 2008 – Providing
education to children in regions and societies
affected by conflict – or emerging from it – is a
major challenge. Yet communities in
conflict-affected areas consistently rank
education as a high priority. And they
demonstrate astounding resourcefulness and
resilience in seeking out and providing schooling for their children.
Many emergency situations around the globe are
protracted conflicts that can take years or
decades to resolve. According to 'Progress for
Children,' the comprehensive statistical review
recently published by UNICEF, more than 40 per
cent of the world's estimated 39 million refugees
and displaced persons are young people.
Growing up in precarious and volatile situations
– and suffering from a lack of teachers,
materials and schools – displaced youths are
likely to be deprived of a quality education.
Educating refugee and displaced children
As the leader of Timor-Leste, the world's
youngest democracy, President Jose Ramos-Horta is
building and developing an education sector that
must reintegrate both returning refugees and internally displaced persons.
During a recent UN Radio discussion on education
in emergencies, Mr. Ramos-Horta spoke of the
Timorese community’s attitudes about schooling
since the country gained independence.
"There is an extraordinary desire, on the part of
the parents, but also on the youth, to go to school," he said.
Development and change
Like Mr. Ramos-Horta, Dr. Rima Salah has drawn on
both her personal experience and her research as
an anthropologist to inform her work as an
advocate for the human rights of refugee populations.
"Living in a refugee camp is really different
than living in a village, because a refugee camp
is a place surrounded by walls, and they know
that they cannot go out," said Dr. Salah.
Despite living conditions and physical obstacles
in displaced communities, both Dr. Salah and Mr.
Ramos-Horta spoke of the drive and determination
of young people to get an education. The Timorese
President stressed that development and change
will be furthered "through quality education,
which will take time to come about to really make this country move forward."
Security situation around Timor-Leste
ENGLISH VERSION
This is a broadcast of the UN Police in Timor-Leste to provide you with information about the security situation around the country.
Thursday 3 January 2008
The security situation in Timor-Leste as a whole has been calm, although there was a large police operation in Dili on Wednesday evening.
On Wednesday evening, the UN Police (UNPol) Drug Taskforce, Dili District Police, and the Timorese National Police (PNTL) raided two bars in Dili as part of a successful operation to crackdown on activities related to illegal immigration, the sale of drugs, and possible human trafficking. A total of 21 women and seven men were arrested for identification purposes in connection with investigations into these activities.
A fight took place between two groups in Ermera district on Wednesday morning which resulted in a 30-year-old man sustaining injuries to his arm and several windows of a UN Police vehicle being smashed. Police brought the situation under control, but later the next morning, the same groups gathered and threw stones at the police station. The situation has again been brought under control by the police, but remains tense.
Many bridges and roads throughout the country have been damaged by the heavy rain in the past few days. Ermera district is among the worst affected areas: Hatolia sub-district is virtually inaccessible as the bridge one kilometer east of Hatolia has been damaged by rainfall. The bridge connecting Ermera and Gleno has also been damaged and is unsafe to cross.
In Liquica district, police have managed to clear debris from several roads, and most remain open, if damaged. However, the road to Bazartete has been blocked by falling debris at several points. Police are working to clear this debris, but until they are successful Fatumasi is effectively cut off.
Despite the damaged roads, police are able to reach all districts by helicopter in case of emergency.
The police advise to avoid travelling during the night to the most affected areas. Please report any suspicious activities. You can call 112 or 7230365 to contact the police 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
* * * * *
VERSAUN TÉTUM
Ida neé notisiário husi Polísia ONU nian iha Timor-Leste atu fo informasaun ba Ita Boot sira kona ba situasaun seguransa nian iha rai laran.
Kinta Feira, Loron 3 Fulan Janeiru 2008
Situasaun siguransa iha Timor-Leste tomak laó kalma, maske iha operasaun boot polísia nian iha Dili iha Kuarta Feira lorokraik.
Iha Kuarta feira lorokraik loron 2 Janeiru, Polísia ONU (UNPol) Taskforce Droga, Polísia Distrital Dili, no Polísia Nasional Timor-Leste (PNTL) tama ba bar rua iha Dili nudar parte ba operasaun ida nebe hetan susesu atu ida atu halakon atividades nebe relasiona ho imigrasaun illegal, faán drogas, no posibilidade ba tráfiku humanu. Kaer feto ho total ema naín 21 no mane naín hitu atu halo identifikasaun nebe relasiona ho investigasaun ba atividades hirak neé.
Baku malu ida entre grupu rua iha distritu Ermera iha Kuarta Feira dadersan nebe halo mane ida ho tinan 30 hetan kanek kiík ida iha nia liman no harahun janela barak Polísia ONU nia kareta. Polísia kontrola situasaun neé maibe dadersan tuir mai grupu neé halibur hamutuk no tuda fatuk ba estasaun polísia nian. Situasaun depois polísia kontrola tiha maibe nafatin iha tensaun laran.
Ponte no dalan barak iha rai laran mak hetan estragus husi udan boot nebe tau iha loron hirak neé. Distritu Ermera mak área nebe heta afeta aat liu: Sub-distritu Hatolia kuaze atu la bele hetan asesu tamba udan estraga ponte nebe iha. Ponte nebe liga Ermera no Gleno mos at tiha no labele liu.
Iha Distritu Liquica, polísia hakaas atu hamos ai no fatuk nebe monu no taka iha dalan-dalan, no barak mak husik loke hela, se hetan estragus. Maske nuneé, dalan ba Bazartete blok tiha ona tamba ai ka fatuk monu no taka hotu tiha dalan. Polísia servisu hela hodi hamos foer hirak neé, maibe antes sira atu hetan susesu, dalan ba Fatumasi nian efetivamente taka tiha ona.
Relasiona ho dalan nebe hetan estragus, polísia sei bele toó ba distritus hotu ho helikóptru bainhira iha emerjensia nia laran.
Polísia hamenon atu labele laó kalan ba área nebe perigu liu. Kontaktu polísia se ita boot sira hare buat ruma nebe deskonfia ka problema ruma. Ita boot bele kontaktu 112 ka 7230365 atu kontaktu polísia iha oras rua nulu resin hat (24) nia laran iha loron ida, loron hitu (7) semana ida.
[This message was distributed via the east-timor news list. For info on how to
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http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm ]
This is a broadcast of the UN Police in Timor-Leste to provide you with information about the security situation around the country.
Thursday 3 January 2008
The security situation in Timor-Leste as a whole has been calm, although there was a large police operation in Dili on Wednesday evening.
On Wednesday evening, the UN Police (UNPol) Drug Taskforce, Dili District Police, and the Timorese National Police (PNTL) raided two bars in Dili as part of a successful operation to crackdown on activities related to illegal immigration, the sale of drugs, and possible human trafficking. A total of 21 women and seven men were arrested for identification purposes in connection with investigations into these activities.
A fight took place between two groups in Ermera district on Wednesday morning which resulted in a 30-year-old man sustaining injuries to his arm and several windows of a UN Police vehicle being smashed. Police brought the situation under control, but later the next morning, the same groups gathered and threw stones at the police station. The situation has again been brought under control by the police, but remains tense.
Many bridges and roads throughout the country have been damaged by the heavy rain in the past few days. Ermera district is among the worst affected areas: Hatolia sub-district is virtually inaccessible as the bridge one kilometer east of Hatolia has been damaged by rainfall. The bridge connecting Ermera and Gleno has also been damaged and is unsafe to cross.
In Liquica district, police have managed to clear debris from several roads, and most remain open, if damaged. However, the road to Bazartete has been blocked by falling debris at several points. Police are working to clear this debris, but until they are successful Fatumasi is effectively cut off.
Despite the damaged roads, police are able to reach all districts by helicopter in case of emergency.
The police advise to avoid travelling during the night to the most affected areas. Please report any suspicious activities. You can call 112 or 7230365 to contact the police 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
* * * * *
VERSAUN TÉTUM
Ida neé notisiário husi Polísia ONU nian iha Timor-Leste atu fo informasaun ba Ita Boot sira kona ba situasaun seguransa nian iha rai laran.
Kinta Feira, Loron 3 Fulan Janeiru 2008
Situasaun siguransa iha Timor-Leste tomak laó kalma, maske iha operasaun boot polísia nian iha Dili iha Kuarta Feira lorokraik.
Iha Kuarta feira lorokraik loron 2 Janeiru, Polísia ONU (UNPol) Taskforce Droga, Polísia Distrital Dili, no Polísia Nasional Timor-Leste (PNTL) tama ba bar rua iha Dili nudar parte ba operasaun ida nebe hetan susesu atu ida atu halakon atividades nebe relasiona ho imigrasaun illegal, faán drogas, no posibilidade ba tráfiku humanu. Kaer feto ho total ema naín 21 no mane naín hitu atu halo identifikasaun nebe relasiona ho investigasaun ba atividades hirak neé.
Baku malu ida entre grupu rua iha distritu Ermera iha Kuarta Feira dadersan nebe halo mane ida ho tinan 30 hetan kanek kiík ida iha nia liman no harahun janela barak Polísia ONU nia kareta. Polísia kontrola situasaun neé maibe dadersan tuir mai grupu neé halibur hamutuk no tuda fatuk ba estasaun polísia nian. Situasaun depois polísia kontrola tiha maibe nafatin iha tensaun laran.
Ponte no dalan barak iha rai laran mak hetan estragus husi udan boot nebe tau iha loron hirak neé. Distritu Ermera mak área nebe heta afeta aat liu: Sub-distritu Hatolia kuaze atu la bele hetan asesu tamba udan estraga ponte nebe iha. Ponte nebe liga Ermera no Gleno mos at tiha no labele liu.
Iha Distritu Liquica, polísia hakaas atu hamos ai no fatuk nebe monu no taka iha dalan-dalan, no barak mak husik loke hela, se hetan estragus. Maske nuneé, dalan ba Bazartete blok tiha ona tamba ai ka fatuk monu no taka hotu tiha dalan. Polísia servisu hela hodi hamos foer hirak neé, maibe antes sira atu hetan susesu, dalan ba Fatumasi nian efetivamente taka tiha ona.
Relasiona ho dalan nebe hetan estragus, polísia sei bele toó ba distritus hotu ho helikóptru bainhira iha emerjensia nia laran.
Polísia hamenon atu labele laó kalan ba área nebe perigu liu. Kontaktu polísia se ita boot sira hare buat ruma nebe deskonfia ka problema ruma. Ita boot bele kontaktu 112 ka 7230365 atu kontaktu polísia iha oras rua nulu resin hat (24) nia laran iha loron ida, loron hitu (7) semana ida.
[This message was distributed via the east-timor news list. For info on how to
subscribe send a blank e-mail to info@etan.org. To support ETAN see
http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm ]
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Rebuilding East Timor
The Canberra Times
December 28, 2007
Rebuilding East Timor
By Jill Jolliffe
Four months after the Parliamentary Majority Alliance (AMP)
Government of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao took power, people are
asking whether it can really turn their fortunes around next year.
About 100,000 people displaced by violence last year remain in tent
settlements and the capital has endured months of enervating power
cuts since it came to office.
More worrying for many is the fear of an insurgency led by renegade
major Alfredo Reinado, who recently staged a military parade of
several hundred armed followers in the town of Gleno, despite a
United Nations demand that he be put on trial.
Gusmao's multi-party coalition was elected in July and sworn into
office on August 8. Voters saw it as an alternative to authoritarian
rule by Fretilin, which they blamed for last year's violence. Today
discontent is not confined to Fretilin supporters: AMP backers are
also doubting the new Government's ability to deliver.
The coalition hopes that its ambitious budget for next year will cure
many of the problems affecting average Timorese and buy it time to
deal with the political problems.
In the hot seat is Emilia Pires, the country's feisty new Finance
Minister, who presented the $US348.1million ($A400million) budget,
the largest since independence.
She is known as a tough dealer who has survived considerable
hardship. Her large family has a reputation for brilliance, and
brother Alfredo is State Secretary for Natural Resources. One of five
children, Pires was raised in the Timorese countryside. She was
precociously bright, perhaps making up for a congenital bone disorder.
When civil war broke out in 1975, the family was evacuated to
Australia. The memory is still vivid. ''I was 14, and we had to get
through a park where fighting was very strong,'' she recalled,
''There was a Norwegian freighter evacuating people, but it couldn't
dock in the harbour, so we had to board it on the high seas.''
A landing craft ferried their crowd of anguished refugees. ''We had
to climb a ladder onto it,'' she recalls, ''I am handicapped, and my
sister couldn't walk. I don't know how I got on, it was as in a
dream.'' The future minister spent the following years in Melbourne
as a refugee, making up for this poor start in life with dedicated
study and an iron will to succeed. She earned a mathematics degree
from Latrobe University and undertook postgraduate studies in
government law at Melbourne. At 22 she began work as a junior public
servant with the Victorian government, where she spent most of her
early working years.
In 1999 the UN advertised for qualified East Timorese to help rebuild
the country. She was hired to formulate the first Timorese National
Development Plan, assisted by UN experts, and also wrote an economic
program known as Vision 2020. Following this success she had two
years as a World Bank adviser to the Palestinian Authority, and found
time in 2004 to do a masters degree at the London School of Economics.
When Gusmao was planning a government in the lead-up to July
elections, she was the obvious choice to run the economy in the
Timorese political world she is the one figure with an intellect to
match that of ex-prime minister Mari Alkatiri. A key flaw of his
government was that it regularly failed to implement its budgets, and
international donors became concerned that unused funds were not not
filtering down to the people.
Next year's budget is designed to reconcile warring factions,
eliminate bureaucracy and offer economic relief to the poor. It
abolishes income tax for low- to medium-earning Timorese, provides
tax concessions for foreign investors, gives $US16 million in
pensions to veterans of the liberation war against Indonesia and sets
up a pension scheme for the elderly. There is priority funding to
streamline the public service, ending political appointments in
favour of a merit-based system, with training for those wishing to
pursue career opportunities.
Pires bridles at the suggestion that this is a simple fix to
artificially stimulate the economy through cash grants. ''It's not so
radical,'' she said, ''but an interim measure to move the economy. It
had stagnated and we had to do something to move it.'' She said she
had warned the private sector that the policy ''won't last forever'',
but is a result of the peak in oil revenues that can be used to build
other sectors of the economy.
Former Fretilin minister Arsenio Bano sees it differently. He
describes it is a ''honeymoon budget'' for the AMP, designed ''to
make a group of people happy''. ''Of course, Fretilin can't disagree
with that but we do question the capacity of the Government to
deliver. It has promised a lot of things,'' he said.
He said the money for war veterans was admirable, but asked whether
the Government planned to increase the sum next year. ''Old-age
pensions are a good idea, but are we sure they are sustainable?''
Pires is sticking to her guns. She said work had been delayed by
Fretilin's failure to hand over power in an orderly fashion. She
alleged that documents were destroyed or removed in all but one
ministry, including lists of refugee figures.
She said that although the Government had not succeeded in persuading
camp-dwellers to go home, an appointed task force had had a
breakthrough: 68 families from one of the biggest Dili camps had
agreed to move into new houses, and others are expected to follow.
Dili's power supply was restored to normal by mid-December, ending
Fretilin criticism that the AMP couldn't even keep the lights on, and
President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Gusmao continue
negotiations with Reinado for his surrender.
The security situation improved this year with the conviction of
various perpetrators of last year's violence, as demanded by the UN.
These include ex-minister Rogerio Lobato, sentenced to 7 1/2 years on
homicide and gun-dealing charges, senior police officer Abilio
Mesquita sentenced to four years for abuse of authority and
disturbing public order and four government soldiers receiving terms
of up to 12 years for the massacre of eight unarmed policemen and the
wounding of 25 others.
Life has largely returned to normal in Dili and tensions should be
further alleviated when the cash from the budget starts flowing, but
uncertainty continues. Taxi driver Filomeno Belo thinks long and hard
about the question of whether the AMP can deliver on its promises.
''I'm not optimistic. If we want prosperity and development the
security issues have to be solved,'' he finally replies. ''While
Alfredo is still marching around in the mountains there's a problem.''
Jill Jolliffe is a special correspondent for The Canberra Times.
December 28, 2007
Rebuilding East Timor
By Jill Jolliffe
Four months after the Parliamentary Majority Alliance (AMP)
Government of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao took power, people are
asking whether it can really turn their fortunes around next year.
About 100,000 people displaced by violence last year remain in tent
settlements and the capital has endured months of enervating power
cuts since it came to office.
More worrying for many is the fear of an insurgency led by renegade
major Alfredo Reinado, who recently staged a military parade of
several hundred armed followers in the town of Gleno, despite a
United Nations demand that he be put on trial.
Gusmao's multi-party coalition was elected in July and sworn into
office on August 8. Voters saw it as an alternative to authoritarian
rule by Fretilin, which they blamed for last year's violence. Today
discontent is not confined to Fretilin supporters: AMP backers are
also doubting the new Government's ability to deliver.
The coalition hopes that its ambitious budget for next year will cure
many of the problems affecting average Timorese and buy it time to
deal with the political problems.
In the hot seat is Emilia Pires, the country's feisty new Finance
Minister, who presented the $US348.1million ($A400million) budget,
the largest since independence.
She is known as a tough dealer who has survived considerable
hardship. Her large family has a reputation for brilliance, and
brother Alfredo is State Secretary for Natural Resources. One of five
children, Pires was raised in the Timorese countryside. She was
precociously bright, perhaps making up for a congenital bone disorder.
When civil war broke out in 1975, the family was evacuated to
Australia. The memory is still vivid. ''I was 14, and we had to get
through a park where fighting was very strong,'' she recalled,
''There was a Norwegian freighter evacuating people, but it couldn't
dock in the harbour, so we had to board it on the high seas.''
A landing craft ferried their crowd of anguished refugees. ''We had
to climb a ladder onto it,'' she recalls, ''I am handicapped, and my
sister couldn't walk. I don't know how I got on, it was as in a
dream.'' The future minister spent the following years in Melbourne
as a refugee, making up for this poor start in life with dedicated
study and an iron will to succeed. She earned a mathematics degree
from Latrobe University and undertook postgraduate studies in
government law at Melbourne. At 22 she began work as a junior public
servant with the Victorian government, where she spent most of her
early working years.
In 1999 the UN advertised for qualified East Timorese to help rebuild
the country. She was hired to formulate the first Timorese National
Development Plan, assisted by UN experts, and also wrote an economic
program known as Vision 2020. Following this success she had two
years as a World Bank adviser to the Palestinian Authority, and found
time in 2004 to do a masters degree at the London School of Economics.
When Gusmao was planning a government in the lead-up to July
elections, she was the obvious choice to run the economy in the
Timorese political world she is the one figure with an intellect to
match that of ex-prime minister Mari Alkatiri. A key flaw of his
government was that it regularly failed to implement its budgets, and
international donors became concerned that unused funds were not not
filtering down to the people.
Next year's budget is designed to reconcile warring factions,
eliminate bureaucracy and offer economic relief to the poor. It
abolishes income tax for low- to medium-earning Timorese, provides
tax concessions for foreign investors, gives $US16 million in
pensions to veterans of the liberation war against Indonesia and sets
up a pension scheme for the elderly. There is priority funding to
streamline the public service, ending political appointments in
favour of a merit-based system, with training for those wishing to
pursue career opportunities.
Pires bridles at the suggestion that this is a simple fix to
artificially stimulate the economy through cash grants. ''It's not so
radical,'' she said, ''but an interim measure to move the economy. It
had stagnated and we had to do something to move it.'' She said she
had warned the private sector that the policy ''won't last forever'',
but is a result of the peak in oil revenues that can be used to build
other sectors of the economy.
Former Fretilin minister Arsenio Bano sees it differently. He
describes it is a ''honeymoon budget'' for the AMP, designed ''to
make a group of people happy''. ''Of course, Fretilin can't disagree
with that but we do question the capacity of the Government to
deliver. It has promised a lot of things,'' he said.
He said the money for war veterans was admirable, but asked whether
the Government planned to increase the sum next year. ''Old-age
pensions are a good idea, but are we sure they are sustainable?''
Pires is sticking to her guns. She said work had been delayed by
Fretilin's failure to hand over power in an orderly fashion. She
alleged that documents were destroyed or removed in all but one
ministry, including lists of refugee figures.
She said that although the Government had not succeeded in persuading
camp-dwellers to go home, an appointed task force had had a
breakthrough: 68 families from one of the biggest Dili camps had
agreed to move into new houses, and others are expected to follow.
Dili's power supply was restored to normal by mid-December, ending
Fretilin criticism that the AMP couldn't even keep the lights on, and
President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Gusmao continue
negotiations with Reinado for his surrender.
The security situation improved this year with the conviction of
various perpetrators of last year's violence, as demanded by the UN.
These include ex-minister Rogerio Lobato, sentenced to 7 1/2 years on
homicide and gun-dealing charges, senior police officer Abilio
Mesquita sentenced to four years for abuse of authority and
disturbing public order and four government soldiers receiving terms
of up to 12 years for the massacre of eight unarmed policemen and the
wounding of 25 others.
Life has largely returned to normal in Dili and tensions should be
further alleviated when the cash from the budget starts flowing, but
uncertainty continues. Taxi driver Filomeno Belo thinks long and hard
about the question of whether the AMP can deliver on its promises.
''I'm not optimistic. If we want prosperity and development the
security issues have to be solved,'' he finally replies. ''While
Alfredo is still marching around in the mountains there's a problem.''
Jill Jolliffe is a special correspondent for The Canberra Times.
Monday, December 24, 2007
MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Happy New Year 2008 !
May this Christmas and the New Year bring Peace and Prosperity to Timor-Leste.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
O primeiro timorense diplomado pela Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra (FCTUC) vai ser uma geóloga
Coimbra, Timor-Leste 19/12/2007 14:26 (LUSA)
Temas: Economia, Negócios e Finanças, Energia, Educação, Universidades
Maria do Céu Sérgio (texto) e Paulo Novais (fotos), da Agência Lusa
Coimbra, 19 Dez (Lusa) - O primeiro timorense diplomado pela Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra (FCTUC) vai ser uma geóloga que sonha usar o "canudo" para que Timor-Leste beneficie do petróleo e de outras riquezas locais.
A estudar em Coimbra e sem ter voltado ao país natal há seis anos, Norberta Soares da Costa está agora a um passo de completar a licenciatura em Geologia na FCTUC, faltando-lhe apenas uma cadeira para a terminar.
Quando isso acontecer, no início de 2008, a jovem realizará o sonho que acalenta desde que decidiu tirar este curso e que a motivou na escolha de Geologia: desenvolver a sua actividade profissional em Timor-Leste, tudo fazendo para que os ganhos financeiros do petróleo e outras riquezas naturais da sua terra ali permaneçam e sejam usadas para diminuir a pobreza.
"Estou um bocado triste com a realidade actual, temo que os timorenses sejam afastados das decisões sobre a exploração dos recursos naturais do país", disse hoje a finalista da FCTUC à agência Lusa.
Sempre sorridente e bem disposta, a jovem de 26 anos refere que os recursos naturais "são muito importantes para o povo timorense e para o seu futuro".
"Há poucos timorenses a trabalhar nessas áreas, receio que essas riquezas sejam retiradas aos timorenses", referiu.
Norberta explicou à Lusa que, no início da década, a decisão sobre o curso superior que iria tirar foi inspirada numa sugestão de um seu professor do Colégio de S. José de Balide, em Dili, ao alertar, precisamente, para a escassez de timorenses no sector petrolífero.
"Fiquei com essa ideia. 'Mas como vou lá chegar?', pensei. Informei-me e, quando concorri à bolsa, Geologia foi a minha primeira opção", adiantou.
Agora, seis anos volvidos, está prestes a concretizar o sonho de obter um curso universitário e espera, com o "canudo", dar corpo a outra aspiração, que é a de pôr essa formação superior ao serviço de Timor-Leste.
Ao contrário do que se passa no país que adoptou durante estes seis anos, em que a ameaça do desemprego paira sobre os recém-licenciados, a jovem timorense acha que não vai ser difícil encontrar trabalho quando regressar a Dili, tendo em conta a falta de quadros no país.
Norberta integrou um grupo de cerca de 300 jovens timorenses que, em 2001, vieram estudar para Portugal.
"Calhou Coimbra, não foi uma escolha minha, mas fiquei contente: o meu pai conhecia a história da cidade e da Universidade", confessou.
Integrou-se num grupo de alunos que iniciou o curso de Geologia em 2002/2003 e incluía jovens de África (Angola), Ásia e Europa, o que lhe valeu a designação de "o ano dos três continentes".
Beneficiando de uma bolsa do Instituto Português de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento, Norberta realizou a sua formação na FCTUC, faltando-lhe apenas a cadeira de Física I, do 2º ano, para obter a licenciatura.
"Se tudo correr bem, quero voltar para Timor-Leste", explica a jovem, que não esconde, contudo, o gosto que teria de aprofundar a sua formação fazendo, nomeadamente, o mestrado em Geologia do Petróleo, uma iniciativa pioneira da FCTUC apoiada pela empresa Petrobrás.
Prestes a abandonar Coimbra - embora não dê como garantida já a conclusão do curso - Norberta refere que a experiência na cidade universitária foi muito positiva, apesar das dificuldades iniciais relacionadas com as diferenças culturais, climáticas e gastronómicas e da barreira derivada do seu desconhecimento inicial da língua portuguesa.
"Estou muito feliz com as amizades que fiz aqui e como o apoio que tive dos colegas, professoras e pessoas mais próximas", expressou a jovem.
Ultrapassadas as dificuldades do curso e a pressão gerada pela necessidade de manter a bolsa, Norberta diz que se integrou na vida académica coimbrã com gosto e, quando sair de Coimbra, em 2008, vai deixar para trás muitos amigos e levar bastantes saudades.
Lusa/Fim
Temas: Economia, Negócios e Finanças, Energia, Educação, Universidades
Maria do Céu Sérgio (texto) e Paulo Novais (fotos), da Agência Lusa
Coimbra, 19 Dez (Lusa) - O primeiro timorense diplomado pela Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra (FCTUC) vai ser uma geóloga que sonha usar o "canudo" para que Timor-Leste beneficie do petróleo e de outras riquezas locais.
A estudar em Coimbra e sem ter voltado ao país natal há seis anos, Norberta Soares da Costa está agora a um passo de completar a licenciatura em Geologia na FCTUC, faltando-lhe apenas uma cadeira para a terminar.
Quando isso acontecer, no início de 2008, a jovem realizará o sonho que acalenta desde que decidiu tirar este curso e que a motivou na escolha de Geologia: desenvolver a sua actividade profissional em Timor-Leste, tudo fazendo para que os ganhos financeiros do petróleo e outras riquezas naturais da sua terra ali permaneçam e sejam usadas para diminuir a pobreza.
"Estou um bocado triste com a realidade actual, temo que os timorenses sejam afastados das decisões sobre a exploração dos recursos naturais do país", disse hoje a finalista da FCTUC à agência Lusa.
Sempre sorridente e bem disposta, a jovem de 26 anos refere que os recursos naturais "são muito importantes para o povo timorense e para o seu futuro".
"Há poucos timorenses a trabalhar nessas áreas, receio que essas riquezas sejam retiradas aos timorenses", referiu.
Norberta explicou à Lusa que, no início da década, a decisão sobre o curso superior que iria tirar foi inspirada numa sugestão de um seu professor do Colégio de S. José de Balide, em Dili, ao alertar, precisamente, para a escassez de timorenses no sector petrolífero.
"Fiquei com essa ideia. 'Mas como vou lá chegar?', pensei. Informei-me e, quando concorri à bolsa, Geologia foi a minha primeira opção", adiantou.
Agora, seis anos volvidos, está prestes a concretizar o sonho de obter um curso universitário e espera, com o "canudo", dar corpo a outra aspiração, que é a de pôr essa formação superior ao serviço de Timor-Leste.
Ao contrário do que se passa no país que adoptou durante estes seis anos, em que a ameaça do desemprego paira sobre os recém-licenciados, a jovem timorense acha que não vai ser difícil encontrar trabalho quando regressar a Dili, tendo em conta a falta de quadros no país.
Norberta integrou um grupo de cerca de 300 jovens timorenses que, em 2001, vieram estudar para Portugal.
"Calhou Coimbra, não foi uma escolha minha, mas fiquei contente: o meu pai conhecia a história da cidade e da Universidade", confessou.
Integrou-se num grupo de alunos que iniciou o curso de Geologia em 2002/2003 e incluía jovens de África (Angola), Ásia e Europa, o que lhe valeu a designação de "o ano dos três continentes".
Beneficiando de uma bolsa do Instituto Português de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento, Norberta realizou a sua formação na FCTUC, faltando-lhe apenas a cadeira de Física I, do 2º ano, para obter a licenciatura.
"Se tudo correr bem, quero voltar para Timor-Leste", explica a jovem, que não esconde, contudo, o gosto que teria de aprofundar a sua formação fazendo, nomeadamente, o mestrado em Geologia do Petróleo, uma iniciativa pioneira da FCTUC apoiada pela empresa Petrobrás.
Prestes a abandonar Coimbra - embora não dê como garantida já a conclusão do curso - Norberta refere que a experiência na cidade universitária foi muito positiva, apesar das dificuldades iniciais relacionadas com as diferenças culturais, climáticas e gastronómicas e da barreira derivada do seu desconhecimento inicial da língua portuguesa.
"Estou muito feliz com as amizades que fiz aqui e como o apoio que tive dos colegas, professoras e pessoas mais próximas", expressou a jovem.
Ultrapassadas as dificuldades do curso e a pressão gerada pela necessidade de manter a bolsa, Norberta diz que se integrou na vida académica coimbrã com gosto e, quando sair de Coimbra, em 2008, vai deixar para trás muitos amigos e levar bastantes saudades.
Lusa/Fim
O Orçamento Geral do Estado (OGE) para o ano de 2008 foi hoje aprovado pelo Parlamento Nacional Timorense
Díli, Timor-Leste 19/12/2007 16:19 (LUSA)
Temas: orçamento, Política, Parlamento, Partidos e movimentos
Díli, 19 Dez (Lusa) - O Orçamento Geral do Estado (OGE) para o ano de 2008 foi hoje aprovado pelo Parlamento Nacional Timorense, com os votos contra da Fretilin e uma divisão de voto na bancada do Partido de Unidade Nacional (PUN).
A Proposta de OGE 2008 foi aprovada com 39 votos a favor, 20 votos contra e 4 abstenções.
A votação do orçamento na especialidade ficou agendada para a próxima sexta-feira, após o feriado religioso de quinta-feira, o Idul Adha, dia do sacrifício para os muçulmanos.
A Fretilin, sem surpresa, votou contra o OGE apresentado na terça-feira ao parlamento pelo primeiro-ministro, Xanana Gusmão.
O maior partido timorense, na oposição, continua a não reconhecer a legitimidade do IV Governo Constitucional, formado pela Aliança para Maioria Parlamentar (AMP) a 08 de Agosto de 2007.
Maior surpresa registou-se na bancada do PUN, partido que elegeu três deputados nesta legislatura e cuja líder, Fernanda Borges, se absteve na votação, enquanto outro deputado do partido votou a favor da Proposta de OGE da AMP.
No OGE defendido por Xanana Gusmão como o do "ano da reforma", o total estimado de receitas (petrolíferas, não petrolíferas, verbas dos parceiros de desenvolvimento e outras receitas não fiscais) é de 1.385 milhões de dólares norte-americanos (962 millhões de euros).
As dotações orçamentais totalizam um montante de 348,1 millhões de dólares (241,8 milhões de euros) e, excluindo os órgãos autónomos, de 333,7 milhões de dólares (231,9 milhões de euros).
Das diferentes dotações, 48 milhões de dólares são para Salários e Vencimentos (33,3 milhões de euros) e 144,2 milhões de dólares para Bens e Serviços (100 milhões de euros), uma fatia do OGE especialmente criticada pela oposição).
A dotação para Capital Menor é de 23,9 milhões de dólares (16,6 milhões de euros) e de 68 milhões de dólares (47,2 milhões de euros) para Capital de Investimento.
O OGE contempla ainda uma dotação de 63,8 milhões de dólares (44,3 milhões de euros) para Pagamentos de Transferências Públicas.
Para 2008, o montante de transferências do Fundo Petrolífero, outro dos pontos recorrentes do debate orçamental, não pode exceder 294 milhões de dólares (204 milhões de euros).
"Demasiada prudência é uma contradição", explicou Xanana Gusmão na abertura do debate, a propósito do Fundo Petrolífero, ao mesmo tempo que elogiou a gestão feita pelos governos anteriores dos recursos do Mar de Timor.
"Não vamos fazer do Fundo do Petróleo uma bandeira política", garantiu o primeiro-ministro, anunciando, porém, que o governo pretende introduzir em 2008 alterações às regras do fundo.
PRM.
Lusa/fim
Temas: orçamento, Política, Parlamento, Partidos e movimentos
Díli, 19 Dez (Lusa) - O Orçamento Geral do Estado (OGE) para o ano de 2008 foi hoje aprovado pelo Parlamento Nacional Timorense, com os votos contra da Fretilin e uma divisão de voto na bancada do Partido de Unidade Nacional (PUN).
A Proposta de OGE 2008 foi aprovada com 39 votos a favor, 20 votos contra e 4 abstenções.
A votação do orçamento na especialidade ficou agendada para a próxima sexta-feira, após o feriado religioso de quinta-feira, o Idul Adha, dia do sacrifício para os muçulmanos.
A Fretilin, sem surpresa, votou contra o OGE apresentado na terça-feira ao parlamento pelo primeiro-ministro, Xanana Gusmão.
O maior partido timorense, na oposição, continua a não reconhecer a legitimidade do IV Governo Constitucional, formado pela Aliança para Maioria Parlamentar (AMP) a 08 de Agosto de 2007.
Maior surpresa registou-se na bancada do PUN, partido que elegeu três deputados nesta legislatura e cuja líder, Fernanda Borges, se absteve na votação, enquanto outro deputado do partido votou a favor da Proposta de OGE da AMP.
No OGE defendido por Xanana Gusmão como o do "ano da reforma", o total estimado de receitas (petrolíferas, não petrolíferas, verbas dos parceiros de desenvolvimento e outras receitas não fiscais) é de 1.385 milhões de dólares norte-americanos (962 millhões de euros).
As dotações orçamentais totalizam um montante de 348,1 millhões de dólares (241,8 milhões de euros) e, excluindo os órgãos autónomos, de 333,7 milhões de dólares (231,9 milhões de euros).
Das diferentes dotações, 48 milhões de dólares são para Salários e Vencimentos (33,3 milhões de euros) e 144,2 milhões de dólares para Bens e Serviços (100 milhões de euros), uma fatia do OGE especialmente criticada pela oposição).
A dotação para Capital Menor é de 23,9 milhões de dólares (16,6 milhões de euros) e de 68 milhões de dólares (47,2 milhões de euros) para Capital de Investimento.
O OGE contempla ainda uma dotação de 63,8 milhões de dólares (44,3 milhões de euros) para Pagamentos de Transferências Públicas.
Para 2008, o montante de transferências do Fundo Petrolífero, outro dos pontos recorrentes do debate orçamental, não pode exceder 294 milhões de dólares (204 milhões de euros).
"Demasiada prudência é uma contradição", explicou Xanana Gusmão na abertura do debate, a propósito do Fundo Petrolífero, ao mesmo tempo que elogiou a gestão feita pelos governos anteriores dos recursos do Mar de Timor.
"Não vamos fazer do Fundo do Petróleo uma bandeira política", garantiu o primeiro-ministro, anunciando, porém, que o governo pretende introduzir em 2008 alterações às regras do fundo.
PRM.
Lusa/fim
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Anarchy lurking beneath restless peace
The Australian
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Dili | December 17, 2007
IN East Timor, they say, you only really know a man once he's
betrayed you. Until then, you can never be entirely sure where he stands.
But now the culture of single-mindedness and absolute secrecy that
helped create one of the modern era's signal armed insurrection
success stories - a dogged battle against 24 years of Indonesian
occupation - is also at the heart of what's holding back the nascent
democracy north of Darwin, insiders say.
Players in the project to create a nation out of the ruins of
long-held rivalries and grudges admit theirs is an endeavour for
which there is no guidebook and little guarantee of success. They're
writing the rules as they go.
Things have improved since the low point of April last year, when
Dili burned, dozens died and thousands took flight - but calling that
progress isn't saying a whole lot.
As one extremely senior source warns, "if you sent the (Australian
and New Zealand) troops home this morning, the place would be in
flames again by the afternoon".
There is an uneasy peace in the capital and across the countryside;
every day that goes by without a major incident builds on the
tentative confidence that things could eventually work out. Fingers
are crossed.
On his lightning visit to the capital last Friday, Kevin Rudd
declared he had "noted carefully" the pleas from President Jose Ramos
Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao that Australia's military
contribution continue for at least another year.
In reality - and people like Ramos Horta admit it privately - the
commitment is likely to go a whole lot longer.
The Australian-led military presence, known as the International
Stabilisation Force, enables the UN to get on with its uncertain task
of fashioning a state from the past's ashes.
Infantry foot patrols on the streets of Dili, as well as cantonments
elsewhere in the country, secure the ground for the actual UN
intervention, which is run out of the organisation's Department of
Peacekeeping Operations.
Although the official mandate ends in February and must be reassessed
by the Security Council in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
admitted on Friday that the UN was in it for the long haul.
"I will continue to advocate, in my interaction with member states,
for the United Nations' long-term investment in Timor-Leste," he said
during a visit to Dili which coincided with Mr Rudd's.
While the former South Korean foreign minister also insisted that
last year's crisis "should not be seen as a failure of all that had
been undertaken until then", observers agree it was the UN's
premature withdrawal from its East Timor task then that allowed
tensions to explode.
In the eyes of many, it was a profound betrayal by Australia (which
had provided troops in blue berets) and the rest of the world: the
latest in a history of abandonments of the fragile country that was
first colonised by Lisbon and then brutalised by Jakarta.
Rumours of new violence typically involve absconded military
policeman Major Alfredo Reinado, wanted on murder charges relating to
last year's chaos.
A trial has begun in his absence; Reinado says he won't front it
until those he blames for the violence - including Gusmao and Ramos
Horta - are brought before a separate military tribunal.
Reinado, in efforts to keep himself at the centre of East Timor's
political process, has worked hard at building a cult of personality,
lately carrying with it the suggestion that half of the country's
disgruntled military are about to defect to his ragtag band.
Disorganised and aimless as they are, Reinado's followers were
nonetheless able recently to stage a parade in the central mountains
town of Gleno, at which he boasted to hundreds of supporters that he
would march on Dili and bring down Gusmao's administration. It's an
ambition that puts Reinado close to the disgruntled opposition
Fretilin party - a bitter and resentful group that insists it, not
Gusmao's National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), is the
legitimate vehicle of government since it won the greatest number of
votes in June elections (Gusmao ultimately formed a minority
administration in coalition with three other groups).
Reinado says Gusmao has abandoned a protesting band of soldiers known
collectively as 'the Petitioners", about 600 members - or about a
third of East Timor's military - whose sackings early last year by
then Fretilin prime minister Mari Alkatiri sparked violence that was
waiting to happen.
Speaking from his distant hiding place by mobile phone to The
Australian, Reinado warned that a new crisis was just around the
corner and that he would not surrender ahead of it.
"If I give myself up right now, will that solve the problem? No. I'm
also a victim," he said. "Who is behind this crisis - where is the
trigger, who has the responsibility?"
Reinado claims the Government is "collapsing", although the view of
many diplomatic sources in East Timor is that his occasional
interventions from outside the main arena actually indicate a certain
amount of stability at this stage in the game.
"It's a Mexican standoff," says one. "He knows the Aussies could take
him out in an instant if they really wanted, so he continues to
bluster but do nothing; at the same time the ISF know that if they
pop him or put him in jail the uprising in his name could be huge."
Most agree the genie would be extremely hard to stuff back into its
bottle if Reinado were killed.
An angry and often irrational enigma, Reinado remains the word on all
lips in Dili, and perhaps that's because he represents precisely what
all players most fear: a return to the anarchy lurking just beyond
view. As recently as yesterday, the fugitive cancelled a planned
secret meeting with Ramos Horta and Gusmao in Dili, citing "security
concerns".
But Reinado, and the other two main issues at hand - the petitioners'
continuing demands for reintegration into the military, as well as
the unsolved problem of internally displaced people, whose precarious
and often violent tent settlements dot Dili and the fringes of other
main towns - are distractions from the more important business of
building institutions such as an independent judiciary and a working
security sector.
By way of example, UN police on secondment from various national
forces, including Australia's, talk disparagingly of an East Timorese
army lacking in discipline and entirely out of control.
Rivalries between the national police and military have played a
major part in the country's recent troubles, and UN police say they
are still regularly harassed by drunken Timorese soldiers with loaded
weapons and little respect for authority.
In a recent security analysis, Australian military academic Bob Lowry
noted that "although an effective police force is essential,
Timor-Leste does not need a military, but it has one: and there is
little prospect of any political configuration having the courage to
demobilise it".
The issue is mostly a historical one, with the national military
having been built on the back of the Falintil guerilla force that
defeated Indonesia's colonial interests. The trick, according to
Lowry, is going to be somehow coaxing the existing army into
functioning within a properly regulated structure.
One of his recommendations - that the "veterans" of the guerilla
struggle be dealt with separately from the country's actual defence
needs - has already been addressed, with recent payments of a bit
over $US9500 ($11,000) each to more than 200 qualifying ex-soldiers.
The national budget being enacted also includes a pay rise for
serving military - a crucial issue in addressing any kind of
institutional development. There is a further plan to recruit about
300 new members at officer level in an attempt to head off the
problem of military lawlessness.
But rule-of-law questions generally remain a huge problem, and that's
where the continued need for Australian soldiers - there are almost
800 of them in East Timor, supplemented by 170 Kiwis - comes in.
For instance, martial arts gangs, a legacy of the Indonesian years
when creative ways of fighting a guerilla war were nutted out by
leaders including Gusmao, now almost have a life of their own.
Doctors at Dili's main hospital tell of being threatened with
crowbars while trying to resuscitate patients; one assailant
allegedly stabbed a rival, followed his victim to the hospital and
then terrorised staff for long enough to ensure the man bled to death.
"People are one day going to start asking questions about why Xanana
doesn't have the guts to admit this gang problem is the result of the
intense culture of secrecy and violence that he was largely
responsible for creating," another diplomat says.
There is still the scent of betrayal in the air; its taste will be
bitter indeed should it ever be fully unleashed.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Dili | December 17, 2007
IN East Timor, they say, you only really know a man once he's
betrayed you. Until then, you can never be entirely sure where he stands.
But now the culture of single-mindedness and absolute secrecy that
helped create one of the modern era's signal armed insurrection
success stories - a dogged battle against 24 years of Indonesian
occupation - is also at the heart of what's holding back the nascent
democracy north of Darwin, insiders say.
Players in the project to create a nation out of the ruins of
long-held rivalries and grudges admit theirs is an endeavour for
which there is no guidebook and little guarantee of success. They're
writing the rules as they go.
Things have improved since the low point of April last year, when
Dili burned, dozens died and thousands took flight - but calling that
progress isn't saying a whole lot.
As one extremely senior source warns, "if you sent the (Australian
and New Zealand) troops home this morning, the place would be in
flames again by the afternoon".
There is an uneasy peace in the capital and across the countryside;
every day that goes by without a major incident builds on the
tentative confidence that things could eventually work out. Fingers
are crossed.
On his lightning visit to the capital last Friday, Kevin Rudd
declared he had "noted carefully" the pleas from President Jose Ramos
Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao that Australia's military
contribution continue for at least another year.
In reality - and people like Ramos Horta admit it privately - the
commitment is likely to go a whole lot longer.
The Australian-led military presence, known as the International
Stabilisation Force, enables the UN to get on with its uncertain task
of fashioning a state from the past's ashes.
Infantry foot patrols on the streets of Dili, as well as cantonments
elsewhere in the country, secure the ground for the actual UN
intervention, which is run out of the organisation's Department of
Peacekeeping Operations.
Although the official mandate ends in February and must be reassessed
by the Security Council in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
admitted on Friday that the UN was in it for the long haul.
"I will continue to advocate, in my interaction with member states,
for the United Nations' long-term investment in Timor-Leste," he said
during a visit to Dili which coincided with Mr Rudd's.
While the former South Korean foreign minister also insisted that
last year's crisis "should not be seen as a failure of all that had
been undertaken until then", observers agree it was the UN's
premature withdrawal from its East Timor task then that allowed
tensions to explode.
In the eyes of many, it was a profound betrayal by Australia (which
had provided troops in blue berets) and the rest of the world: the
latest in a history of abandonments of the fragile country that was
first colonised by Lisbon and then brutalised by Jakarta.
Rumours of new violence typically involve absconded military
policeman Major Alfredo Reinado, wanted on murder charges relating to
last year's chaos.
A trial has begun in his absence; Reinado says he won't front it
until those he blames for the violence - including Gusmao and Ramos
Horta - are brought before a separate military tribunal.
Reinado, in efforts to keep himself at the centre of East Timor's
political process, has worked hard at building a cult of personality,
lately carrying with it the suggestion that half of the country's
disgruntled military are about to defect to his ragtag band.
Disorganised and aimless as they are, Reinado's followers were
nonetheless able recently to stage a parade in the central mountains
town of Gleno, at which he boasted to hundreds of supporters that he
would march on Dili and bring down Gusmao's administration. It's an
ambition that puts Reinado close to the disgruntled opposition
Fretilin party - a bitter and resentful group that insists it, not
Gusmao's National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), is the
legitimate vehicle of government since it won the greatest number of
votes in June elections (Gusmao ultimately formed a minority
administration in coalition with three other groups).
Reinado says Gusmao has abandoned a protesting band of soldiers known
collectively as 'the Petitioners", about 600 members - or about a
third of East Timor's military - whose sackings early last year by
then Fretilin prime minister Mari Alkatiri sparked violence that was
waiting to happen.
Speaking from his distant hiding place by mobile phone to The
Australian, Reinado warned that a new crisis was just around the
corner and that he would not surrender ahead of it.
"If I give myself up right now, will that solve the problem? No. I'm
also a victim," he said. "Who is behind this crisis - where is the
trigger, who has the responsibility?"
Reinado claims the Government is "collapsing", although the view of
many diplomatic sources in East Timor is that his occasional
interventions from outside the main arena actually indicate a certain
amount of stability at this stage in the game.
"It's a Mexican standoff," says one. "He knows the Aussies could take
him out in an instant if they really wanted, so he continues to
bluster but do nothing; at the same time the ISF know that if they
pop him or put him in jail the uprising in his name could be huge."
Most agree the genie would be extremely hard to stuff back into its
bottle if Reinado were killed.
An angry and often irrational enigma, Reinado remains the word on all
lips in Dili, and perhaps that's because he represents precisely what
all players most fear: a return to the anarchy lurking just beyond
view. As recently as yesterday, the fugitive cancelled a planned
secret meeting with Ramos Horta and Gusmao in Dili, citing "security
concerns".
But Reinado, and the other two main issues at hand - the petitioners'
continuing demands for reintegration into the military, as well as
the unsolved problem of internally displaced people, whose precarious
and often violent tent settlements dot Dili and the fringes of other
main towns - are distractions from the more important business of
building institutions such as an independent judiciary and a working
security sector.
By way of example, UN police on secondment from various national
forces, including Australia's, talk disparagingly of an East Timorese
army lacking in discipline and entirely out of control.
Rivalries between the national police and military have played a
major part in the country's recent troubles, and UN police say they
are still regularly harassed by drunken Timorese soldiers with loaded
weapons and little respect for authority.
In a recent security analysis, Australian military academic Bob Lowry
noted that "although an effective police force is essential,
Timor-Leste does not need a military, but it has one: and there is
little prospect of any political configuration having the courage to
demobilise it".
The issue is mostly a historical one, with the national military
having been built on the back of the Falintil guerilla force that
defeated Indonesia's colonial interests. The trick, according to
Lowry, is going to be somehow coaxing the existing army into
functioning within a properly regulated structure.
One of his recommendations - that the "veterans" of the guerilla
struggle be dealt with separately from the country's actual defence
needs - has already been addressed, with recent payments of a bit
over $US9500 ($11,000) each to more than 200 qualifying ex-soldiers.
The national budget being enacted also includes a pay rise for
serving military - a crucial issue in addressing any kind of
institutional development. There is a further plan to recruit about
300 new members at officer level in an attempt to head off the
problem of military lawlessness.
But rule-of-law questions generally remain a huge problem, and that's
where the continued need for Australian soldiers - there are almost
800 of them in East Timor, supplemented by 170 Kiwis - comes in.
For instance, martial arts gangs, a legacy of the Indonesian years
when creative ways of fighting a guerilla war were nutted out by
leaders including Gusmao, now almost have a life of their own.
Doctors at Dili's main hospital tell of being threatened with
crowbars while trying to resuscitate patients; one assailant
allegedly stabbed a rival, followed his victim to the hospital and
then terrorised staff for long enough to ensure the man bled to death.
"People are one day going to start asking questions about why Xanana
doesn't have the guts to admit this gang problem is the result of the
intense culture of secrecy and violence that he was largely
responsible for creating," another diplomat says.
There is still the scent of betrayal in the air; its taste will be
bitter indeed should it ever be fully unleashed.
Fugitive Reinado misses last chance for negotiation
East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has denounced the absence of a fugitive who led a rebellion in 2006 against the government at scheduled peace talks with top officials.
The government had launched a massive manhunt for Alfredo Reinado, formerly of the military police, when he escaped from jail in August 2006.
President Jose Ramos-Horta called off the search in June in a bid to start a dialogue.
"I will give Alfredo and Salsinha [one of Alfredo's key deputies] one last chance to come, and if they don't, that would mean that they are not contributing anything and do not want to settle this problem," Mr Gusmao said.
The pair did not use a last chance to meet offered by the government, Mr Gusmao said, noting now "there will be no other way", though he did not elaborate.
Factional fighting among security forces left at least 37 people dead in the April and May 2006 rebellion, and forced international peacekeepers to be despatched to restore calm.
Reinado was arrested on charges of illegal weapons distribution, desertion and attempted murder following the unrest, but later escaped from jail.
He last met with government officials in August.
- AFP
The government had launched a massive manhunt for Alfredo Reinado, formerly of the military police, when he escaped from jail in August 2006.
President Jose Ramos-Horta called off the search in June in a bid to start a dialogue.
"I will give Alfredo and Salsinha [one of Alfredo's key deputies] one last chance to come, and if they don't, that would mean that they are not contributing anything and do not want to settle this problem," Mr Gusmao said.
The pair did not use a last chance to meet offered by the government, Mr Gusmao said, noting now "there will be no other way", though he did not elaborate.
Factional fighting among security forces left at least 37 people dead in the April and May 2006 rebellion, and forced international peacekeepers to be despatched to restore calm.
Reinado was arrested on charges of illegal weapons distribution, desertion and attempted murder following the unrest, but later escaped from jail.
He last met with government officials in August.
- AFP
Friday, December 14, 2007
Secretary-General's address to the Parliament of Timor-Leste
Dili, Timor-Leste, 14 December 2007
Your Excellency, President of the National Parliament,
Your Excellency, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste,
Your Excellency, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Chief Justice
Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Members of the Parliament,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your kind and moving words. It is an honour for me to be here and receive such a warm and whole-hearted welcome from all of the political parties.
Above all, let me thank you and the people of Timor-Leste for the warm welcome I have been accorded since my arrival this morning. I am privileged to have this opportunity to address you, so early in my tenure.
As an Asian Secretary-General, I also feel both moved and proud to visit this country, where, since 1999, we have undertaken one the most formidable responsibilities ever given to the United Nations.
In the eight years since 1999, and especially with the developments last year, we have learnt the profound importance of working in continued and steadfast partnership with you, as you consolidate the foundations of democratic governance to ensure enduring stability and development. The Security Council reflected this when it established UNMIT, the fifth UN operation to be deployed here -- an integrated mission which brings together the entire UN family under the leadership of my Special Representative, Atul Khare.
The crisis that Timor-Leste experienced last year should not be seen as a failure of all that had been undertaken until then. Perhaps it was a sign that the institutions of this new State had not yet reached the stage where they were strong enough to deal with the serious challenges that emerged. This is not uncommon in the earliest life of a country. Timor-Leste was, and remains, a young nation that needs more support.
The true measure of success is not whether all the problems of Timor-Leste are resolved quickly. Many tasks will require long-term efforts. As in any country, new challenges will always arise, Rather, success should be measured by the way challenges are addressed. If solutions to the country's problems are reached through constructive and broad discussions and debate, that is a form of success. If consensual or at least compromise approaches can be agreed upon among all stakeholders, that too is a mark of success.
And you have many successes to be proud of since the events of last year's crisis. This includes, crucially, the work to stabilize the security environment and maintain overall stability. By the time the UNMIT Police had reached full strength in March of this year, the number of security incidents had dropped considerably. The country's National Police and Armed Forces have played a commendable role. Improved security conditions paved the way for presidential and parliamentary elections earlier this year -- the first national elections since your independence.
You can also count successes in the work to consolidate democracy. This year's milestone elections marked another important step forward. The elections were largely peaceful and, according to all observers, met broad international standards. Let me congratulate the people of Timor-Leste for the successful conduct of these elections.
As elected parliamentarians, you now have a crucial role to play. You are the representatives through whom the people of Timor-Leste will make their voices heard over the next five years. They have high expectations of you. They expect you to debate issues that reflect the will and preoccupations of all Timorese. They expect you to work together to achieve common goals and to build a better society for the benefit of all the men and women of Timor-Leste. And they expect you to rise above partisan considerations and promote national unity.
I commend the constructive spirit in which all you have carried out your parliamentary duties in your first few months in office. I encourage you to sustain this positive spirit and to reach out across all parties and communities in the months and years to come.
Your Excellency, President of Timor-Leste,
Your Excellency, President of the National Parliament,
Distinguished Members of Parliament,
As we know, elections are only the beginning of a process, not the end goal. Differences and disputes that arise can and must be resolved in a peaceful and democratic manner. Processes and institutions founded on the principle of democratic governance must be carefully nurtured. This means promoting inclusiveness and broad participation in decision-making. It means ensuring transparency and accountability in the affairs of government. And it means responding effectively to the needs of the people.
I therefore appeal to you, all the parties in this important chamber, and to the country's entire leadership, to work together and give primary consideration to the collective interests of the Timorese people. I also call on you, every citizen -- men and women, young people and elders -- to each play their role in building a democratic society and in fostering reconciliation.
Through the challenges you have faced, you know well that it is much harder to build than to tear down. Though you may have differences of political opinion, Timor Leste depends on the whole of Timorese society being united in the efforts to build your nation.
I know the challenges ahead are enormous. There is a need to review and strengthen the security sector, as well as governance and the rule of law, including the justice system. Economic and social development must be accelerated. And measures must be taken to address unemployment, particularly among young people. For real progress to be made, the underlying causes of the crisis need to be addressed.
I am confident that Timor-Leste will make progress in all these areas. You have many advantages -- the energy and potential of your youth; the demonstrated commitment of your citizens to democratic processes; the dedication of your leaders to promote the interests of the people; and the resources of the Timor Sea, to name just a few.
You also have the sustained support and partnership of the entire United Nations family. We will remain at your side as you work to consolidate democracy and good governance. We will remain at your side as you strive to uphold the rule of law and promote human rights. We will remain at your side in the efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals – through reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, gender discrimination and gender-based violence.
In all these efforts, the UN is cooperating with many international and bilateral organizations and donors working in partnership with the Timorese. Such cooperation is crucial for international support to be effective.
I am heartened that the Government has endorsed the compact between Timor-Leste and the international community. The compact is designed to assist in coordinating international and national resources and assistance programmes. It focuses on six areas -- public safety and security; elections; the justice system; the public sector; youth employment and skills development; and social reinsertion. All of these are interdependent. They must be addressed together, with the engagement and support of Timorese society as a whole.
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Parliamentarians,
Ladies and Gentleman,
The road to Timor-Leste's nationhood was long. It required difficult decisions and severe sacrifices, throughout which your people displayed exceptional courage.
The road to building enduring, stable and democratic institutions, underpinned by the rule of law, will be long too.
Your most powerful tool, as ever, is the exceptional spirit and valiance of the Timorese people.
Throughout our eight years of partnership, the people of Timor-Leste have looked decisively to the future – a future of which they themselves are the architects. That is the spirit which I have witnessed today. And that is the spirit that continues to inspire and inform our partnership. We will remain your trusted allies as you continue on your journey.
Thank you very much. Obrigado.
Your Excellency, President of the National Parliament,
Your Excellency, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste,
Your Excellency, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Chief Justice
Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Members of the Parliament,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your kind and moving words. It is an honour for me to be here and receive such a warm and whole-hearted welcome from all of the political parties.
Above all, let me thank you and the people of Timor-Leste for the warm welcome I have been accorded since my arrival this morning. I am privileged to have this opportunity to address you, so early in my tenure.
As an Asian Secretary-General, I also feel both moved and proud to visit this country, where, since 1999, we have undertaken one the most formidable responsibilities ever given to the United Nations.
In the eight years since 1999, and especially with the developments last year, we have learnt the profound importance of working in continued and steadfast partnership with you, as you consolidate the foundations of democratic governance to ensure enduring stability and development. The Security Council reflected this when it established UNMIT, the fifth UN operation to be deployed here -- an integrated mission which brings together the entire UN family under the leadership of my Special Representative, Atul Khare.
The crisis that Timor-Leste experienced last year should not be seen as a failure of all that had been undertaken until then. Perhaps it was a sign that the institutions of this new State had not yet reached the stage where they were strong enough to deal with the serious challenges that emerged. This is not uncommon in the earliest life of a country. Timor-Leste was, and remains, a young nation that needs more support.
The true measure of success is not whether all the problems of Timor-Leste are resolved quickly. Many tasks will require long-term efforts. As in any country, new challenges will always arise, Rather, success should be measured by the way challenges are addressed. If solutions to the country's problems are reached through constructive and broad discussions and debate, that is a form of success. If consensual or at least compromise approaches can be agreed upon among all stakeholders, that too is a mark of success.
And you have many successes to be proud of since the events of last year's crisis. This includes, crucially, the work to stabilize the security environment and maintain overall stability. By the time the UNMIT Police had reached full strength in March of this year, the number of security incidents had dropped considerably. The country's National Police and Armed Forces have played a commendable role. Improved security conditions paved the way for presidential and parliamentary elections earlier this year -- the first national elections since your independence.
You can also count successes in the work to consolidate democracy. This year's milestone elections marked another important step forward. The elections were largely peaceful and, according to all observers, met broad international standards. Let me congratulate the people of Timor-Leste for the successful conduct of these elections.
As elected parliamentarians, you now have a crucial role to play. You are the representatives through whom the people of Timor-Leste will make their voices heard over the next five years. They have high expectations of you. They expect you to debate issues that reflect the will and preoccupations of all Timorese. They expect you to work together to achieve common goals and to build a better society for the benefit of all the men and women of Timor-Leste. And they expect you to rise above partisan considerations and promote national unity.
I commend the constructive spirit in which all you have carried out your parliamentary duties in your first few months in office. I encourage you to sustain this positive spirit and to reach out across all parties and communities in the months and years to come.
Your Excellency, President of Timor-Leste,
Your Excellency, President of the National Parliament,
Distinguished Members of Parliament,
As we know, elections are only the beginning of a process, not the end goal. Differences and disputes that arise can and must be resolved in a peaceful and democratic manner. Processes and institutions founded on the principle of democratic governance must be carefully nurtured. This means promoting inclusiveness and broad participation in decision-making. It means ensuring transparency and accountability in the affairs of government. And it means responding effectively to the needs of the people.
I therefore appeal to you, all the parties in this important chamber, and to the country's entire leadership, to work together and give primary consideration to the collective interests of the Timorese people. I also call on you, every citizen -- men and women, young people and elders -- to each play their role in building a democratic society and in fostering reconciliation.
Through the challenges you have faced, you know well that it is much harder to build than to tear down. Though you may have differences of political opinion, Timor Leste depends on the whole of Timorese society being united in the efforts to build your nation.
I know the challenges ahead are enormous. There is a need to review and strengthen the security sector, as well as governance and the rule of law, including the justice system. Economic and social development must be accelerated. And measures must be taken to address unemployment, particularly among young people. For real progress to be made, the underlying causes of the crisis need to be addressed.
I am confident that Timor-Leste will make progress in all these areas. You have many advantages -- the energy and potential of your youth; the demonstrated commitment of your citizens to democratic processes; the dedication of your leaders to promote the interests of the people; and the resources of the Timor Sea, to name just a few.
You also have the sustained support and partnership of the entire United Nations family. We will remain at your side as you work to consolidate democracy and good governance. We will remain at your side as you strive to uphold the rule of law and promote human rights. We will remain at your side in the efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals – through reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, gender discrimination and gender-based violence.
In all these efforts, the UN is cooperating with many international and bilateral organizations and donors working in partnership with the Timorese. Such cooperation is crucial for international support to be effective.
I am heartened that the Government has endorsed the compact between Timor-Leste and the international community. The compact is designed to assist in coordinating international and national resources and assistance programmes. It focuses on six areas -- public safety and security; elections; the justice system; the public sector; youth employment and skills development; and social reinsertion. All of these are interdependent. They must be addressed together, with the engagement and support of Timorese society as a whole.
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Parliamentarians,
Ladies and Gentleman,
The road to Timor-Leste's nationhood was long. It required difficult decisions and severe sacrifices, throughout which your people displayed exceptional courage.
The road to building enduring, stable and democratic institutions, underpinned by the rule of law, will be long too.
Your most powerful tool, as ever, is the exceptional spirit and valiance of the Timorese people.
Throughout our eight years of partnership, the people of Timor-Leste have looked decisively to the future – a future of which they themselves are the architects. That is the spirit which I have witnessed today. And that is the spirit that continues to inspire and inform our partnership. We will remain your trusted allies as you continue on your journey.
Thank you very much. Obrigado.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Nobel official says peace prize is no magic wand
unday December 9, 10:10 AM
OSLO (Reuters) - The Nobel Peace Prize has occasionally affected
world events, but it is more of a microphone to broadcast the views
of the winner than a magic wand to change things, a senior Nobel official said.
Geir Lundestad, head of the Nobel Institute in Oslo and secretary to
the Norwegian committee that selects the laureates, said the peace
prize could open many doors, but it only rarely enabled the winners
to change the world.
"The prize is primarily a high honor," Lundestad told reporters
during a recent visit to the Institute. "It also acts as a
loudspeaker and a microphone for the lesser-known laureates."
"It can obviously not produce peace. It is no magic wand -- that goes
without saying," he said.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore will receive the Nobel Peace Prize
in the Norwegian capital on Monday with the U.N. Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Announced in October, the 10 million Swedish crown ($1.55 million)
award went to them for spreading public awareness and furthering the
science of climate change.
Gore and IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri will receive the prize while
governments are convened at a U.N. climate conference in Bali,
Indonesia, to try to launch negotiations for a treaty to succeed the
Kyoto protocol curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Gore said upon arriving in Oslo on Friday, that if the prize helped
further those talks, it would be a good thing.
The peace prize has sometimes offered protection to the winners
against their countries' rulers, as noted by the 1983 laureate Lech
Walesa of Poland and the Soviet dissident physicist Andrei Sakharov
who got the prize in 1975.
"It also opens virtually all doors," Lundestad said, citing the
example of South African Bishop Desmond Tutu who was invited to
Ronald Reagan's White House to delivery his message about the evils
of apartheid only after he won the prize in 1984.
"And very occasionally, but only very occasionally, it can influence
politics on the ground," Lundestad said.
Perhaps the best example, he said, was the 1996 prize to Bishop
Carlos Belo and Jose Ramos Horta. The prize-winners themselves said
the award was influential in helping East Timor break away from
Indonesia in 1999 and gain independence in 2002.
Before winning the prize, Ramos Horta traveled the world seeking
support, but no one wanted to see him or finance his movement, so he
slept in railway stations, Lundestad said.
Lundestad said East Timor gained independence mainly because of
economic, social and political collapse in Indonesia at the end of the 1990s.
"But the prize certainly contributed. The world certainly cared about
what was happening on that tiny half of that tiny island," he said.
(Editing by Caroline Drees)
OSLO (Reuters) - The Nobel Peace Prize has occasionally affected
world events, but it is more of a microphone to broadcast the views
of the winner than a magic wand to change things, a senior Nobel official said.
Geir Lundestad, head of the Nobel Institute in Oslo and secretary to
the Norwegian committee that selects the laureates, said the peace
prize could open many doors, but it only rarely enabled the winners
to change the world.
"The prize is primarily a high honor," Lundestad told reporters
during a recent visit to the Institute. "It also acts as a
loudspeaker and a microphone for the lesser-known laureates."
"It can obviously not produce peace. It is no magic wand -- that goes
without saying," he said.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore will receive the Nobel Peace Prize
in the Norwegian capital on Monday with the U.N. Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Announced in October, the 10 million Swedish crown ($1.55 million)
award went to them for spreading public awareness and furthering the
science of climate change.
Gore and IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri will receive the prize while
governments are convened at a U.N. climate conference in Bali,
Indonesia, to try to launch negotiations for a treaty to succeed the
Kyoto protocol curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Gore said upon arriving in Oslo on Friday, that if the prize helped
further those talks, it would be a good thing.
The peace prize has sometimes offered protection to the winners
against their countries' rulers, as noted by the 1983 laureate Lech
Walesa of Poland and the Soviet dissident physicist Andrei Sakharov
who got the prize in 1975.
"It also opens virtually all doors," Lundestad said, citing the
example of South African Bishop Desmond Tutu who was invited to
Ronald Reagan's White House to delivery his message about the evils
of apartheid only after he won the prize in 1984.
"And very occasionally, but only very occasionally, it can influence
politics on the ground," Lundestad said.
Perhaps the best example, he said, was the 1996 prize to Bishop
Carlos Belo and Jose Ramos Horta. The prize-winners themselves said
the award was influential in helping East Timor break away from
Indonesia in 1999 and gain independence in 2002.
Before winning the prize, Ramos Horta traveled the world seeking
support, but no one wanted to see him or finance his movement, so he
slept in railway stations, Lundestad said.
Lundestad said East Timor gained independence mainly because of
economic, social and political collapse in Indonesia at the end of the 1990s.
"But the prize certainly contributed. The world certainly cared about
what was happening on that tiny half of that tiny island," he said.
(Editing by Caroline Drees)
Saturday, December 8, 2007
O retorno de Timorleste online
Pedimos desculpas por estarmos desatulizados por muito tempo.
Prometemos regressar a fornecer noticias actulizadas sobre Timor-Leste na medida do possivel aparir do proximo ano 2008.
Ate la tenham um Feliz Natal e um Ano Novo Cheias de Alegria e Festas.
We apologize for been outdated for so long. We promise to provide current news on Timor-Leste, whenever possible, starting next year 2008. Until then wishes of Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with lots of parties.
Moderator
Prometemos regressar a fornecer noticias actulizadas sobre Timor-Leste na medida do possivel aparir do proximo ano 2008.
Ate la tenham um Feliz Natal e um Ano Novo Cheias de Alegria e Festas.
We apologize for been outdated for so long. We promise to provide current news on Timor-Leste, whenever possible, starting next year 2008. Until then wishes of Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with lots of parties.
Moderator
Friday, August 17, 2007
CHARM OFFENSIVE: HOW CHINA'S SOFT POWER IS TRANSFORMING THE WORLD
August 15, 2007
By Joshua Kurlantzick
As a correspondent for The Economist in East Asia, based in
Thailand, one of my reporting assignments was covering the
first visit of a Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, to Cambodia
in November 2000. This was the first such visit in thirty
years--China and Cambodia have had a generally disastrous
modern history. (China was the major foreign patron of the
Khmer Rouge, and after the genocide in Cambodia there was
much lingering anger at all sorts of actors, including
China.)
Jiang received a strong public response in Cambodia, not
only from local officials whose job it is to do nice things
for visiting dignitaries, but from a huge number of
schoolchildren who came to welcome him, from the local
business community, and from thousands of local officials
from all over the country who came to greet him. The Chinese
government had done a great deal of preparatory work for
this visit. They had invested a lot of money in language
schools and cultural programs in Cambodia, built a kind of
Peace Corps program there, gave out scholarships for
children who would go on to study in China, and created a
huge aid program. China had done similar things in other
countries. But there was very little coverage of this in the
global media, which tended to focus on high-level diplomacy.
Accordingly, for the book project I went to China to speak
with Chinese officials about how they see their power in the
world emerging, particularly in developing parts of the
world--Asia, Africa, Latin America-and then went to a number
of countries in these regions to look at what China was
doing on the ground in these areas. I also wanted to find
out what if any results the Chinese had gotten from what we
call soft power.
HOW CHINA'S SOFT POWER STRATEGY EMERGES
There are many definitions of soft power, but basically,
when the Chinese government talks about its new soft power
in the world, it means all power outside of the military
sphere, including diplomacy, aid, investment, and economic
tools.
One reason for this new relationship with the world is that
China has experienced great domestic changes within the past
fifteen years. By the 1990s, you saw the growth of a more
confident, patriotic, even nationalistic public in China,
that, seeing how China had grown significantly, began to
talk about China's playing a larger role in the world, a
subject that was verboten fifteen years ago. The Chinese
leadership also has become much more engaged with the world,
with their own think tanks and universities to draw on to
develop a more sophisticated foreign policy. These leaders
have a more sophisticated view of the world, travel more,
and are able to play a larger, more confident global role.
Here in the U.S. we often talk of how difficult it is for
the government to change tack when something is perceived as
a mistake. This was not the case in China, which in the mid-
1990s was somewhat more adventurous militarily, launching
missiles into the Taiwan Strait and creating disputes in
Asia over islands that China and other countries have made
claims to. Beijing recognized that this adventurism was
really failing them and that they were alienating countries,
some of whom were coming back and restoring their relations
with the U.S.
Finally, there was the Asian financial crisis. The U.S. was
widely criticized for responding slowly to that crisis, and
you saw the beginning of the decline of America's image in
that part of the world. At the same time the Chinese
government was fairly proactive. They resisted devaluing
their currency and did a lot of good PR for this. Whatever
this may have contributed to solving the crisis, they really
hyped up that they were standing up for other countries in
Asia and got a lot of goodwill from this decision. It was
the first time they saw the benefits of promoting their
economic activity in the world as a benefit to other
nations.
CHINESE GOALS
China has new goals as it has become more engaged in the
world. First, it desperately needs access to resources. It
has a high level of industrial development, but is a vast
consumer of resources. If China was to develop at the same
pace as the U.S. and consume the same amount of resources,
it would be on a scale unprecedented in the world. As a
result, the Chinese government worries desperately where it
is going to get oil and gas. The government doesn't have the
kind of legitimacy that comes from elections; its legitimacy
comes from delivering economic growth. Every time that
growth declines or if there's an electricity blackout or the
like, the government worries. The Chinese also have been
overly dependent on too few oil and gas suppliers in the
world. They now look to places they can get oil and gas
where they won't be in direct competition with the U.S. or
Japan, places like Sudan and other countries where Western
nations either can't go because of sanctions or fear to go
because the environment is dangerous.
Also, as Chinese companies start to become internationally
active, they want to have places they can sell their goods.
Again, they often want to go to places where there's less
immediate competition with the U.S - places where the
environment is difficult for business.
As they get more influential, the Chinese want more partners
in international organizations such as the UN, the WTO, etc.
Isolating Taiwan has been a Chinese goal since the U.S. and
the rest of the world recognized China, and in the past few
years, as China has become more proactive and
internationally engaged, they have sought more to isolate
Taiwan, which has informal links with many other parts of
the world.
China's strategy since the late 1990s shows recognition that
in the U.S. its image will likely be mixed. Therefore, if it
could change its perception in other parts of the world and
reduce fears of its economic and military power in other
parts of the world, it could play a much greater role on the
global stage. This is actually quite sophisticated thinking.
Finally, the Chinese leadership to some degree desires in
the long run that China be the regional leader in Asia. It
feels that the U.S. is an unnatural actor in Asia, owing
from the legacy of WWII, when the U.S. was the only country
that had the power to play peacemaker role, to guarantee
stability in the region. In the long term, they feel, that
role would naturally be China's.
COMPONENTS OF CHINA'S STRATEGY
Since the late 1990s, China has shifted its foreign policy
away from just worrying about the U.S., as it had been doing
to a large extent since Kissinger and Zhou Enlai first met,
to a much broader focus. The time they spend in Africa,
Latin America, and other parts of the world is evidence that
Chinese leaders are putting a much higher priority on those
regions, recognizing that because China is also a developing
nation, it possibly can build relations with some of these
other parts of the world more effectively than the U.S. can.
China's leaders can suggest that their country stands on the
side of these other countries on issues like trade and
technology transfer. Whether or not this is actually true,
as a rhetorical device it's quite effective.
China sometimes focuses on countries where the U.S.
bilateral relationship is faltering. An extreme case is
Uzbekistan. About two years ago there was a significant
crackdown on opposition in that country in which hundreds of
people were brutally killed. The U.S. has had a closer
relationship with Uzbekistan since 9/11, since it wanted
bases there. We still have some bases there. But at the time
of the crackdown the relationship was downgraded.
Immediately after, the Chinese government invited the leader
of Uzbekistan for a state visit in Beijing.
You see this at a lower level, too. A good example is the
Philippines. The U.S. had long had a good relationship with
that country. But in July 2004 the Philippines took its
troops out of Iraq, probably in order to save a Filipino
hostage. The Bush administration criticized them, and
immediately after that the Chinese government announced an
enormous aid package for the Philippines and aggressively
stepped up its relationship. China recognizes that it can
benefit when the U.S. slips. It seeks to convey that unlike
the U.S., it does not interfere with other countries'
domestic affairs. It won't tell any country--Sudan, Myanmar,
or France--what to do. China has won some praise in some
countries for this.
China has also become more pragmatic. It does not want to
directly antagonize the U.S. or poke a finger in its eye; it
wants to still have a good relationship with the U.S. but
pursue these other strategies at the same time. For
instance, China has a very good relationship with Venezuela,
whose Hugo Chavez has made stridently anti-U.S. statements
in many forums, including the UN. When he did the same in
Beijing, China's ambassador to Venezuela immediately told
the local press that China did not want to associate itself
with those statements.
Finally, within political systems, China is far less
ideological than in the past. Forty years ago, China chose
its relations within political systems based on ideology.
There's very little of that any more. After rebels in Nepal
who took their philosophy directly from Chairman Mao began a
war against the king, China's government had to decide who
they were going to support. They decided to support the king
against the Maoist rebels.
CHINESE TOOLS OF INFLUENCE
With very little fanfare until this past year, China has
developed into a significant aid donor in the world. China
had given out aid in the 1950s and 1960s, in Mao's time, but
had retreated from this in recent years. Now, in some
countries like the Philippines and Cambodia and parts of
Africa, China has actually become a bigger donor than the
U.S. or Japan. The money is spent in a pretty sophisticated
way, not for building big sports stadiums, which is what
China was famous for in the past, but for their own version
of a Peace Corps. They spend money on local media and bring
politicians and officials from other countries to China to
trade. They do what we in America would call building
people-to-people contacts, which was hard for the Chinese
government to understand in the past.
This comes along with more skilled formal diplomacy. When I
was first based in Thailand, you never saw the Chinese
ambassador. He was invisible. China now has a new ambassador
to Thailand who often appears on that country's equivalent
of the Larry King Show. He speaks fluent Thai, and he's
perfectly willing to talk about China's relationship with
Thailand, a dramatic change from ten years ago. You see this
across the Chinese diplomatic corps. They're much more open,
much better in English and local languages, and more able to
interact with other countries.
This comes along with much increased promotion of cultural
and language studies. China has spent a lot of money
promoting language studies, funding the first and second
year of universities in 100-150 countries. Particularly in
poorer countries, they spend a lot of money promoting
Chinese studies in primary schools. If you do well there,
you can get a scholarship to go on to university in China.
Fifteen years ago there were very few foreign students in
China--a certain number of Americans who had come on
exchange programs, as well as some African students left
over from Mao's time. Now you have 110,000-140,000 overseas
students in China. (Some, of course, are students who
probably would have liked to study in the U.S. but visas
have become more difficult to obtain since 9/11.)
Particularly in Asia, China's TV and print media also have
become more accessible, and China has begun to invest in the
world. On trips abroad, Chinese officials are savvy at
suggesting the enormous potential of China's future
investment. Right now, China is a pretty small investor in
the world. But they talk about huge targets that China's
going to bring in the future--$100 billion in new investment
in Latin America, for example. It covers up that China is
still just feeling its way in the world as an investor.
Finally, China has become a country that embraces trade
agreements, which would shock U.S. trade officials of 15-20
years ago. China is now negotiating between 15-20 free trade
agreements all over the world at the same time.[1] If you
talk to people in the U.S. who negotiate FTAs, they'd say
that's impossible, it takes a year to negotiate just one
FTA. What the Chinese government does is negotiate an FTA
that has very little substance in it, sign it, then work out
the substance later. Which brings a lot of good will.
Obviously in the U.S. context, one could not say to
businesses or Congress, "We're just going to sign a trade
agreement, we'll tell you what's in it later."
MATRICES OF CHINESE SUCCESS
In a lot of parts of the world where there had been fear of
China's economic growth, particularly in the developing
world, you see much less fear today. This is reflected in
the media coverage -- even, for instance, in the coverage of
exports of tainted goods from China. The Southeast Asia
media gives this much less coverage than the U.S. media
does. This reflects their much higher degree of comfort with
China as an economic partner. If you look at both global and
local public opinion polls, China is viewed more favorably
in a lot of countries as an actor on the global stage than
the U.S. Chinese businesspeople and officials also are now
getting access to a lot of countries that once they never
would have.
Another sign of China's success is that there's a lot of
interest in China's model of development. Countries from
Syria to Iran, from Vietnam to South Africa feel that China
somehow has done something different from Western countries
given its staggering growth rate. China probably doesn't
have a substantially different model of development, but the
fact that it has developed to be so strong economically
without loosening political control is an attractive idea to
a leader of an authoritarian country. Vietnamese officials
with whom I spoke for my book really want to copy what China
has done.
In Asia, local ethnic Chinese historically were viewed as a
prism for how to view relations with China. You see this in
diaspora communities in many parts of the world. Ten years
ago, when I first moved to Southeast Asia, Indonesians were
burning down the homes of ethnic Chinese, looting their
shops. Now you have an overwhelming celebration of Chinese
culture. Indonesia's president talks about it, and local
ethnic Chinese there run for parliament.
China, in fact, has increased its allure to the point that
it now plays a quite interesting role for other poor nations
on its border. In some ways China is now viewed by some of
these nations the way the U.S. might be viewed in Central
America, or the EU in Moldova. China is a place you want to
get to in order to live a better life. China is still a very
poor country, but some of the poorer border countries view
China as extremely wealthy. People in Myanmar, northern
Thailand, and Laos want to marry visiting Chinese
businesspeople, thinking it would get them into China.
That's actually not true, but it shows the dramatic change
in China's image.
As China has increased its access to resources, it's been
able to diversify its suppliers of oil and gas, so that its
oil and gas take from Africa has nearly doubled over the
past ten years.
Finally, China now has more peacekeepers serving under the
UN flag than any member of the Permanent 5 on the Security
Council except France. They serve in Africa, the Caribbean,
with very little comment or concern, which reflects some
degree of comfort with China's presence in these places.
WHY SOFT POWER MATTERS
China's growing popularity broadens its public appeal and
allows other countries to cooperate more closely with it,
including on defense cooperation. One Filipino defense
official put it to me this way: "Ten years ago in the
Philippines, which is a vibrant democracy, with a very free
press, if the Chinese had come to us and offered us closer
defense training or an alliance, it would have been
unthinkable, because it would have gotten out to the public
and criticized. Now we know it's essentially acceptable to
the public, because China's image has improved quite well,
and so the Philippines has pushed forward with closer
defense and economic cooperation with China."
So public appeal does matter. Conversely, here in the U.S.
we often thought it didn't matter that much, but when it
comes to the run-up to the war in Iraq, when you would like
cooperation with Turkey, our long-time friend, but Turkey's
a democracy now, and the government of Turkey knows that
U.S. public appeal is not so strong in Turkey, and we're
unable to get their support for an incursion from Turkey
into northern Iraq. Rumsfeld himself said that was one of
the major factors that hindered the war effort at first.
You see the same thing with economic cooperation--countries
in Africa, Asia, other parts of the world becoming more
comfortable in their relationship with China, partly because
it's easier for them to tolerate China's public appeal. The
U.S. still has a very close relationship with Saudi Arabia,
but the Saudi government must necessarily be worried about
the public appeal of having a relationship with the U.S.
It's not surprising that the Saudi government has formed
close links to China and thought about building China its
own strategic petroleum reserve.
As China has become more influential, opinion leaders from
all over the world are visiting or studying there. One of
the things the U.S. has always drawn upon is the generations
of opinion leaders who had come to the U.S. for education,
gone home and been the best ambassadors for the U.S.--
Margaret Thatcher, Hamid Karzai, President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo in the Philippines. China is increasingly going to
play that role, and that will necessarily impact how other
country leaders think of it.
Finally, as China becomes more acceptable economically, it's
going to be able to drive Asia as a more integrating trading
region. There will be less fear of it and China can drive
trade.
QUESTIONS
In the short term, China has wielded a significant amount of
power. But in the long term it faces very substantial
questions, as long as it remains the kind of country it is.
First, is China really a model for other countries like
Vietnam, Syria, Iran, South Africa? Yes, it's developed and
has remained an authoritarian state. But do they really have
any different model of development?
Second, as China becomes a greater actor in the world, can
it provide the kind of positive goods that the U.S. has
provided for years--such as security and response to
disasters? After the December 2004 tsunami hit Asia, though
the U.S. was very unpopular in a number of the affected
countries, those countries had to rely on the U.S. because
no one else was able to provide that type of disaster
relief. (Actually, the U.S. response to the tsunami did
improve its public image among those countries.)
Third and most important, China has gone far with its idea
that it, unlike the U.S., doesn't interfere in other
countries' affairs. However, the domestic affairs in a lot
of the countries with which China has relations are crying
out for some kind of resolution. China has said it won't
interfere in Sudan, but many in Sudan would like some sort
of interference, because right now the situation is
untenable. The government in Myanmar has a close
relationship with China. Many people, activists of a
movement that was elected 15, 17 years ago, would like China
to push the government to recognize them. Noninterference
isn't a policy that can exist in the world over the long
term. China has begun to think about this. They've sent
their own envoy to Sudan, they've thought about changing
their relationship with Myanmar. They're realizing that if
you're going to be a real global power, you can't
necessarily stick with this philosophy. But if they're going
to diverge from this philosophy, are they then just going to
be like the U.S.? Or can they be somehow something different
at the same time?
Joshua Kurlantzick is special correspondent for the New
Republic and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace. He has covered Southeast Asia and
China as a correspondent for US News and World Report and
The Economist, and his writings on Asia have appeared in
Foreign Affairs, the New York Times Magazine, and many other
publications. This essay is based on the BookTalk he gave at
FPRI on July 25, at which copies of his new book, Charm
Offensive (Yale University Press), were sold by Joseph Fox
Bookshop, 1724 Sansom St., Philadelphia
(www.foxbookshop.com), where the book is also available.
----------------------------------------------------------
Notes
[1] See report on FPRI's Oct. 4, 2006 "China and Free Trade"
conference at http://www.fpri.org/research/asia/.
By Joshua Kurlantzick
As a correspondent for The Economist in East Asia, based in
Thailand, one of my reporting assignments was covering the
first visit of a Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, to Cambodia
in November 2000. This was the first such visit in thirty
years--China and Cambodia have had a generally disastrous
modern history. (China was the major foreign patron of the
Khmer Rouge, and after the genocide in Cambodia there was
much lingering anger at all sorts of actors, including
China.)
Jiang received a strong public response in Cambodia, not
only from local officials whose job it is to do nice things
for visiting dignitaries, but from a huge number of
schoolchildren who came to welcome him, from the local
business community, and from thousands of local officials
from all over the country who came to greet him. The Chinese
government had done a great deal of preparatory work for
this visit. They had invested a lot of money in language
schools and cultural programs in Cambodia, built a kind of
Peace Corps program there, gave out scholarships for
children who would go on to study in China, and created a
huge aid program. China had done similar things in other
countries. But there was very little coverage of this in the
global media, which tended to focus on high-level diplomacy.
Accordingly, for the book project I went to China to speak
with Chinese officials about how they see their power in the
world emerging, particularly in developing parts of the
world--Asia, Africa, Latin America-and then went to a number
of countries in these regions to look at what China was
doing on the ground in these areas. I also wanted to find
out what if any results the Chinese had gotten from what we
call soft power.
HOW CHINA'S SOFT POWER STRATEGY EMERGES
There are many definitions of soft power, but basically,
when the Chinese government talks about its new soft power
in the world, it means all power outside of the military
sphere, including diplomacy, aid, investment, and economic
tools.
One reason for this new relationship with the world is that
China has experienced great domestic changes within the past
fifteen years. By the 1990s, you saw the growth of a more
confident, patriotic, even nationalistic public in China,
that, seeing how China had grown significantly, began to
talk about China's playing a larger role in the world, a
subject that was verboten fifteen years ago. The Chinese
leadership also has become much more engaged with the world,
with their own think tanks and universities to draw on to
develop a more sophisticated foreign policy. These leaders
have a more sophisticated view of the world, travel more,
and are able to play a larger, more confident global role.
Here in the U.S. we often talk of how difficult it is for
the government to change tack when something is perceived as
a mistake. This was not the case in China, which in the mid-
1990s was somewhat more adventurous militarily, launching
missiles into the Taiwan Strait and creating disputes in
Asia over islands that China and other countries have made
claims to. Beijing recognized that this adventurism was
really failing them and that they were alienating countries,
some of whom were coming back and restoring their relations
with the U.S.
Finally, there was the Asian financial crisis. The U.S. was
widely criticized for responding slowly to that crisis, and
you saw the beginning of the decline of America's image in
that part of the world. At the same time the Chinese
government was fairly proactive. They resisted devaluing
their currency and did a lot of good PR for this. Whatever
this may have contributed to solving the crisis, they really
hyped up that they were standing up for other countries in
Asia and got a lot of goodwill from this decision. It was
the first time they saw the benefits of promoting their
economic activity in the world as a benefit to other
nations.
CHINESE GOALS
China has new goals as it has become more engaged in the
world. First, it desperately needs access to resources. It
has a high level of industrial development, but is a vast
consumer of resources. If China was to develop at the same
pace as the U.S. and consume the same amount of resources,
it would be on a scale unprecedented in the world. As a
result, the Chinese government worries desperately where it
is going to get oil and gas. The government doesn't have the
kind of legitimacy that comes from elections; its legitimacy
comes from delivering economic growth. Every time that
growth declines or if there's an electricity blackout or the
like, the government worries. The Chinese also have been
overly dependent on too few oil and gas suppliers in the
world. They now look to places they can get oil and gas
where they won't be in direct competition with the U.S. or
Japan, places like Sudan and other countries where Western
nations either can't go because of sanctions or fear to go
because the environment is dangerous.
Also, as Chinese companies start to become internationally
active, they want to have places they can sell their goods.
Again, they often want to go to places where there's less
immediate competition with the U.S - places where the
environment is difficult for business.
As they get more influential, the Chinese want more partners
in international organizations such as the UN, the WTO, etc.
Isolating Taiwan has been a Chinese goal since the U.S. and
the rest of the world recognized China, and in the past few
years, as China has become more proactive and
internationally engaged, they have sought more to isolate
Taiwan, which has informal links with many other parts of
the world.
China's strategy since the late 1990s shows recognition that
in the U.S. its image will likely be mixed. Therefore, if it
could change its perception in other parts of the world and
reduce fears of its economic and military power in other
parts of the world, it could play a much greater role on the
global stage. This is actually quite sophisticated thinking.
Finally, the Chinese leadership to some degree desires in
the long run that China be the regional leader in Asia. It
feels that the U.S. is an unnatural actor in Asia, owing
from the legacy of WWII, when the U.S. was the only country
that had the power to play peacemaker role, to guarantee
stability in the region. In the long term, they feel, that
role would naturally be China's.
COMPONENTS OF CHINA'S STRATEGY
Since the late 1990s, China has shifted its foreign policy
away from just worrying about the U.S., as it had been doing
to a large extent since Kissinger and Zhou Enlai first met,
to a much broader focus. The time they spend in Africa,
Latin America, and other parts of the world is evidence that
Chinese leaders are putting a much higher priority on those
regions, recognizing that because China is also a developing
nation, it possibly can build relations with some of these
other parts of the world more effectively than the U.S. can.
China's leaders can suggest that their country stands on the
side of these other countries on issues like trade and
technology transfer. Whether or not this is actually true,
as a rhetorical device it's quite effective.
China sometimes focuses on countries where the U.S.
bilateral relationship is faltering. An extreme case is
Uzbekistan. About two years ago there was a significant
crackdown on opposition in that country in which hundreds of
people were brutally killed. The U.S. has had a closer
relationship with Uzbekistan since 9/11, since it wanted
bases there. We still have some bases there. But at the time
of the crackdown the relationship was downgraded.
Immediately after, the Chinese government invited the leader
of Uzbekistan for a state visit in Beijing.
You see this at a lower level, too. A good example is the
Philippines. The U.S. had long had a good relationship with
that country. But in July 2004 the Philippines took its
troops out of Iraq, probably in order to save a Filipino
hostage. The Bush administration criticized them, and
immediately after that the Chinese government announced an
enormous aid package for the Philippines and aggressively
stepped up its relationship. China recognizes that it can
benefit when the U.S. slips. It seeks to convey that unlike
the U.S., it does not interfere with other countries'
domestic affairs. It won't tell any country--Sudan, Myanmar,
or France--what to do. China has won some praise in some
countries for this.
China has also become more pragmatic. It does not want to
directly antagonize the U.S. or poke a finger in its eye; it
wants to still have a good relationship with the U.S. but
pursue these other strategies at the same time. For
instance, China has a very good relationship with Venezuela,
whose Hugo Chavez has made stridently anti-U.S. statements
in many forums, including the UN. When he did the same in
Beijing, China's ambassador to Venezuela immediately told
the local press that China did not want to associate itself
with those statements.
Finally, within political systems, China is far less
ideological than in the past. Forty years ago, China chose
its relations within political systems based on ideology.
There's very little of that any more. After rebels in Nepal
who took their philosophy directly from Chairman Mao began a
war against the king, China's government had to decide who
they were going to support. They decided to support the king
against the Maoist rebels.
CHINESE TOOLS OF INFLUENCE
With very little fanfare until this past year, China has
developed into a significant aid donor in the world. China
had given out aid in the 1950s and 1960s, in Mao's time, but
had retreated from this in recent years. Now, in some
countries like the Philippines and Cambodia and parts of
Africa, China has actually become a bigger donor than the
U.S. or Japan. The money is spent in a pretty sophisticated
way, not for building big sports stadiums, which is what
China was famous for in the past, but for their own version
of a Peace Corps. They spend money on local media and bring
politicians and officials from other countries to China to
trade. They do what we in America would call building
people-to-people contacts, which was hard for the Chinese
government to understand in the past.
This comes along with more skilled formal diplomacy. When I
was first based in Thailand, you never saw the Chinese
ambassador. He was invisible. China now has a new ambassador
to Thailand who often appears on that country's equivalent
of the Larry King Show. He speaks fluent Thai, and he's
perfectly willing to talk about China's relationship with
Thailand, a dramatic change from ten years ago. You see this
across the Chinese diplomatic corps. They're much more open,
much better in English and local languages, and more able to
interact with other countries.
This comes along with much increased promotion of cultural
and language studies. China has spent a lot of money
promoting language studies, funding the first and second
year of universities in 100-150 countries. Particularly in
poorer countries, they spend a lot of money promoting
Chinese studies in primary schools. If you do well there,
you can get a scholarship to go on to university in China.
Fifteen years ago there were very few foreign students in
China--a certain number of Americans who had come on
exchange programs, as well as some African students left
over from Mao's time. Now you have 110,000-140,000 overseas
students in China. (Some, of course, are students who
probably would have liked to study in the U.S. but visas
have become more difficult to obtain since 9/11.)
Particularly in Asia, China's TV and print media also have
become more accessible, and China has begun to invest in the
world. On trips abroad, Chinese officials are savvy at
suggesting the enormous potential of China's future
investment. Right now, China is a pretty small investor in
the world. But they talk about huge targets that China's
going to bring in the future--$100 billion in new investment
in Latin America, for example. It covers up that China is
still just feeling its way in the world as an investor.
Finally, China has become a country that embraces trade
agreements, which would shock U.S. trade officials of 15-20
years ago. China is now negotiating between 15-20 free trade
agreements all over the world at the same time.[1] If you
talk to people in the U.S. who negotiate FTAs, they'd say
that's impossible, it takes a year to negotiate just one
FTA. What the Chinese government does is negotiate an FTA
that has very little substance in it, sign it, then work out
the substance later. Which brings a lot of good will.
Obviously in the U.S. context, one could not say to
businesses or Congress, "We're just going to sign a trade
agreement, we'll tell you what's in it later."
MATRICES OF CHINESE SUCCESS
In a lot of parts of the world where there had been fear of
China's economic growth, particularly in the developing
world, you see much less fear today. This is reflected in
the media coverage -- even, for instance, in the coverage of
exports of tainted goods from China. The Southeast Asia
media gives this much less coverage than the U.S. media
does. This reflects their much higher degree of comfort with
China as an economic partner. If you look at both global and
local public opinion polls, China is viewed more favorably
in a lot of countries as an actor on the global stage than
the U.S. Chinese businesspeople and officials also are now
getting access to a lot of countries that once they never
would have.
Another sign of China's success is that there's a lot of
interest in China's model of development. Countries from
Syria to Iran, from Vietnam to South Africa feel that China
somehow has done something different from Western countries
given its staggering growth rate. China probably doesn't
have a substantially different model of development, but the
fact that it has developed to be so strong economically
without loosening political control is an attractive idea to
a leader of an authoritarian country. Vietnamese officials
with whom I spoke for my book really want to copy what China
has done.
In Asia, local ethnic Chinese historically were viewed as a
prism for how to view relations with China. You see this in
diaspora communities in many parts of the world. Ten years
ago, when I first moved to Southeast Asia, Indonesians were
burning down the homes of ethnic Chinese, looting their
shops. Now you have an overwhelming celebration of Chinese
culture. Indonesia's president talks about it, and local
ethnic Chinese there run for parliament.
China, in fact, has increased its allure to the point that
it now plays a quite interesting role for other poor nations
on its border. In some ways China is now viewed by some of
these nations the way the U.S. might be viewed in Central
America, or the EU in Moldova. China is a place you want to
get to in order to live a better life. China is still a very
poor country, but some of the poorer border countries view
China as extremely wealthy. People in Myanmar, northern
Thailand, and Laos want to marry visiting Chinese
businesspeople, thinking it would get them into China.
That's actually not true, but it shows the dramatic change
in China's image.
As China has increased its access to resources, it's been
able to diversify its suppliers of oil and gas, so that its
oil and gas take from Africa has nearly doubled over the
past ten years.
Finally, China now has more peacekeepers serving under the
UN flag than any member of the Permanent 5 on the Security
Council except France. They serve in Africa, the Caribbean,
with very little comment or concern, which reflects some
degree of comfort with China's presence in these places.
WHY SOFT POWER MATTERS
China's growing popularity broadens its public appeal and
allows other countries to cooperate more closely with it,
including on defense cooperation. One Filipino defense
official put it to me this way: "Ten years ago in the
Philippines, which is a vibrant democracy, with a very free
press, if the Chinese had come to us and offered us closer
defense training or an alliance, it would have been
unthinkable, because it would have gotten out to the public
and criticized. Now we know it's essentially acceptable to
the public, because China's image has improved quite well,
and so the Philippines has pushed forward with closer
defense and economic cooperation with China."
So public appeal does matter. Conversely, here in the U.S.
we often thought it didn't matter that much, but when it
comes to the run-up to the war in Iraq, when you would like
cooperation with Turkey, our long-time friend, but Turkey's
a democracy now, and the government of Turkey knows that
U.S. public appeal is not so strong in Turkey, and we're
unable to get their support for an incursion from Turkey
into northern Iraq. Rumsfeld himself said that was one of
the major factors that hindered the war effort at first.
You see the same thing with economic cooperation--countries
in Africa, Asia, other parts of the world becoming more
comfortable in their relationship with China, partly because
it's easier for them to tolerate China's public appeal. The
U.S. still has a very close relationship with Saudi Arabia,
but the Saudi government must necessarily be worried about
the public appeal of having a relationship with the U.S.
It's not surprising that the Saudi government has formed
close links to China and thought about building China its
own strategic petroleum reserve.
As China has become more influential, opinion leaders from
all over the world are visiting or studying there. One of
the things the U.S. has always drawn upon is the generations
of opinion leaders who had come to the U.S. for education,
gone home and been the best ambassadors for the U.S.--
Margaret Thatcher, Hamid Karzai, President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo in the Philippines. China is increasingly going to
play that role, and that will necessarily impact how other
country leaders think of it.
Finally, as China becomes more acceptable economically, it's
going to be able to drive Asia as a more integrating trading
region. There will be less fear of it and China can drive
trade.
QUESTIONS
In the short term, China has wielded a significant amount of
power. But in the long term it faces very substantial
questions, as long as it remains the kind of country it is.
First, is China really a model for other countries like
Vietnam, Syria, Iran, South Africa? Yes, it's developed and
has remained an authoritarian state. But do they really have
any different model of development?
Second, as China becomes a greater actor in the world, can
it provide the kind of positive goods that the U.S. has
provided for years--such as security and response to
disasters? After the December 2004 tsunami hit Asia, though
the U.S. was very unpopular in a number of the affected
countries, those countries had to rely on the U.S. because
no one else was able to provide that type of disaster
relief. (Actually, the U.S. response to the tsunami did
improve its public image among those countries.)
Third and most important, China has gone far with its idea
that it, unlike the U.S., doesn't interfere in other
countries' affairs. However, the domestic affairs in a lot
of the countries with which China has relations are crying
out for some kind of resolution. China has said it won't
interfere in Sudan, but many in Sudan would like some sort
of interference, because right now the situation is
untenable. The government in Myanmar has a close
relationship with China. Many people, activists of a
movement that was elected 15, 17 years ago, would like China
to push the government to recognize them. Noninterference
isn't a policy that can exist in the world over the long
term. China has begun to think about this. They've sent
their own envoy to Sudan, they've thought about changing
their relationship with Myanmar. They're realizing that if
you're going to be a real global power, you can't
necessarily stick with this philosophy. But if they're going
to diverge from this philosophy, are they then just going to
be like the U.S.? Or can they be somehow something different
at the same time?
Joshua Kurlantzick is special correspondent for the New
Republic and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace. He has covered Southeast Asia and
China as a correspondent for US News and World Report and
The Economist, and his writings on Asia have appeared in
Foreign Affairs, the New York Times Magazine, and many other
publications. This essay is based on the BookTalk he gave at
FPRI on July 25, at which copies of his new book, Charm
Offensive (Yale University Press), were sold by Joseph Fox
Bookshop, 1724 Sansom St., Philadelphia
(www.foxbookshop.com), where the book is also available.
----------------------------------------------------------
Notes
[1] See report on FPRI's Oct. 4, 2006 "China and Free Trade"
conference at http://www.fpri.org/research/asia/.
UNITED STATES–EAST TIMOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 2007
UNITED STATES–EAST TIMOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 2007
ANNOUNCEMENT
The East-West Center is pleased to announce the 2007 United States–East Timor Scholarship Program competition. The Program, funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, is a competitive, merit-based scholarship program open to East Timorese who meet specific selection criteria.
The objective of the Program is to identify and support the education of academically talented East Timorese who are in the future expected to assume leadership roles in East Timor. Following a “bridge” year of intensive English language preparation, the scholarship normally provides the opportunity to pursue the bachelor’s (S1) degree study at a university in the United States, in fields that are directly relevant to the needs of East Timor. It will also enable the recipients to obtain a broader understanding of the United States. The scholarship program will include a summer internship in Washington, D.C. as well as a four to five week community service project in East Timor.
Eligible fields of study emphasize areas of critical development needs in East Timor. Students admitted to the undergraduate degree program will pursue fields of study related to agricultural or environmental studies, business, communications or journalism, economics, education, international relations, natural resources management, political science, psychology, and urban planning.
Completed applications must be received by 27 AUGUST 2007 for awards beginning in January 2008.
For 2007, five (5) scholarships will be available.
There are specific eligibility and selection criteria that applicants must satisfy before they can be considered for a scholarship. Please see “Information for Applicants” in the application packet for complete details regarding eligibility and selection criteria.
Applications
In East Timor, an application packet may be obtained from the United States Embassy, Praia dos Coqueiros, Dili. For more information in East Timor, please contact the East-West Center’s representative in Dili, Ms. Emma Coupland. Mobile: (+670) 735 8477 (within East Timor), or e-mail: uset_ships@yahoo.com Application materials may also be obtained from the Award Services Office at the East-West Center, 1601 East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96848-1601, USA.
All application documents contained in the application packet may also be found at the following Internet site: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/studentprograms
Telephone, fax, or e-mail inquiries to the East-West Center should be routed as follows: telephone: 1-808-944-7735; fax: 1-808-944-7730; or e-mail: uset@eastwestcenter.org. Faxed inquiries should include in large print the individual’s name, mailing address, telephone, and, if available, fax number and e-mail address. All inquiries should reference the 2006 United States–East Timor Scholarship Program.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The East-West Center is pleased to announce the 2007 United States–East Timor Scholarship Program competition. The Program, funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, is a competitive, merit-based scholarship program open to East Timorese who meet specific selection criteria.
The objective of the Program is to identify and support the education of academically talented East Timorese who are in the future expected to assume leadership roles in East Timor. Following a “bridge” year of intensive English language preparation, the scholarship normally provides the opportunity to pursue the bachelor’s (S1) degree study at a university in the United States, in fields that are directly relevant to the needs of East Timor. It will also enable the recipients to obtain a broader understanding of the United States. The scholarship program will include a summer internship in Washington, D.C. as well as a four to five week community service project in East Timor.
Eligible fields of study emphasize areas of critical development needs in East Timor. Students admitted to the undergraduate degree program will pursue fields of study related to agricultural or environmental studies, business, communications or journalism, economics, education, international relations, natural resources management, political science, psychology, and urban planning.
Completed applications must be received by 27 AUGUST 2007 for awards beginning in January 2008.
For 2007, five (5) scholarships will be available.
There are specific eligibility and selection criteria that applicants must satisfy before they can be considered for a scholarship. Please see “Information for Applicants” in the application packet for complete details regarding eligibility and selection criteria.
Applications
In East Timor, an application packet may be obtained from the United States Embassy, Praia dos Coqueiros, Dili. For more information in East Timor, please contact the East-West Center’s representative in Dili, Ms. Emma Coupland. Mobile: (+670) 735 8477 (within East Timor), or e-mail: uset_ships@yahoo.com Application materials may also be obtained from the Award Services Office at the East-West Center, 1601 East-West Road, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96848-1601, USA.
All application documents contained in the application packet may also be found at the following Internet site: http://www.eastwestcenter.org/studentprograms
Telephone, fax, or e-mail inquiries to the East-West Center should be routed as follows: telephone: 1-808-944-7735; fax: 1-808-944-7730; or e-mail: uset@eastwestcenter.org. Faxed inquiries should include in large print the individual’s name, mailing address, telephone, and, if available, fax number and e-mail address. All inquiries should reference the 2006 United States–East Timor Scholarship Program.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Charity Says U.S. Food Aid Hurts Poor
Charity Says U.S. Food Aid Hurts Poor
Aug 16 07:48 PM US/Eastern
By KATHARINE HOURELD
Associated Press Writer
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - A humanitarian group has turned down $46 million worth of U.S. food aid, arguing that the way the American government distributes its help hurts poor farmers.
CARE said wheat donated by the U.S. government and sold by charities to finance anti-poverty programs results in low-priced crops being dumped on local markets and small-scale growers cannot compete.
Other experts said they share CARE's concern, but stressed that food donations are sometimes needed when a natural disaster harms a local area's agriculture, such as the flooding that North Korea says has devastated vast tracts of its farmland.
The Atlanta-based CARE agreed with that view. "We are not against emergency food aid for things like drought and famine," spokeswoman Alina Labrada said Thursday.
But, she added, the donation of wheat and other crops does not help in regions where people consistently go hungry because local farming has been weakened by international competition. "They are being hurt instead of helped by this mechanism," she said.
Labrada said such areas would be helped more if the U.S. and other donors gave cash that could be spent on locally produced crops, which would stimulate agricultural expansion.
The United States Agency for International Development said Thursday that its experts carry out detailed assessments to try to ensure that commodities do not disrupt local production. Jim Kunder, USAID's acting deputy adminstrator, said $375 million is the approximate average cash value of commodities that are donated for sale.
CARE decided in 2005 to phase out accepting grain donations within four years, but the move is gaining new attention because of the current debate in the U.S. Congress over the Farm Bill, which is reauthorized every five years.
"This is a crucial time. It will set policy for the next five years," Labrada said.
The U.S. farm sector and the maritime industry are the biggest supporters of the current system. The program soaks up surplus farm production, and shippers get lucrative contracts to transport donated grain for sale in needy regions.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office published a study in April saying that emergency American food aid takes an average of 4.5 months to arrive and that legal requirements mean two-thirds of the money spent by the government on food aid goes for packing and shipping.
Washington spends an average of $2 billion on food aid programs a year, mostly funneling the help through the United Nations' World Food Program. According to some aid groups, if the U.S. gave its aid in cash rather than food, it could support about twice as many people.
In the last two farm bills, the U.S. administration called for a partial shift to cash donations instead of grain, but that was voted down by farm supporters.
According to the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development, the U.S. administration's proposals for future farm spending call for 25 percent of the food aid budget to be in cash.
The European Union has spoken out strongly against U.S. food aid policy in the Word Trade Organization, accusing Washington of using such programs to skirt rules limiting agriculture subsidies.
Christian Rasmussen, at the EU's agriculture directorate in Brussels, Belgium, said the bloc had replaced food aid with cash to ensure help gets to poor countries more quickly.
"It ensures a correct diet, because you also try to buy the proper products. It's also very cost effective because you can buy the food close to the market, unlike in the U.S. case," he said.
Like aid groups, African farmers are divided.
Ousmane Ndiaye, director of the farmer and rural worker group in the West African nation of Senegal, said dumping cheap crops undermines local agriculture.
"We have the resources that we need to nourish our population. We have land. We have men and women with the capacity to do it," he said. "We have millet here. But instead of buying the millet that comes from the middle of Senegal, some people prefer to buy sorghum from foreign countries."
In neighboring Mali, however, the secretary-general of the farmers association said foreign aid helps Malians get crops that aren't produced locally.
"We farm wheat in the north of Mali, around Timbuktu. But that's not enough for all the flour we need for bread," said Fousseyni Traore. He said Mali could never produce enough wheat because its southern areas are too wet and tropical.
The Minnesota-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy said that in 2001, the sale of donated American grain provided 30 percent of U.S. aid groups' gross revenues, totaling $1.5 billion.
Tom Getman, executive director for international relations at the aid group World Vision, said he shared CARE's concern about the system but didn't want to turn away any kind of aid.
World Vision also is pushing to get more cash donations and less food, "because we've all gotten more and more anxious about how much it costs to do the shipping and the mixed results on the ground," Getman said.
"But there is going to be a continuing need, like in (North) Korea right now, where we've got to have food available for emergency situations. So it's just finding the balance that is so tough."
___
Associated Press writers Alexander Higgins and Frank Jordans in Geneva and Heidi Vogt in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Aug 16 07:48 PM US/Eastern
By KATHARINE HOURELD
Associated Press Writer
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - A humanitarian group has turned down $46 million worth of U.S. food aid, arguing that the way the American government distributes its help hurts poor farmers.
CARE said wheat donated by the U.S. government and sold by charities to finance anti-poverty programs results in low-priced crops being dumped on local markets and small-scale growers cannot compete.
Other experts said they share CARE's concern, but stressed that food donations are sometimes needed when a natural disaster harms a local area's agriculture, such as the flooding that North Korea says has devastated vast tracts of its farmland.
The Atlanta-based CARE agreed with that view. "We are not against emergency food aid for things like drought and famine," spokeswoman Alina Labrada said Thursday.
But, she added, the donation of wheat and other crops does not help in regions where people consistently go hungry because local farming has been weakened by international competition. "They are being hurt instead of helped by this mechanism," she said.
Labrada said such areas would be helped more if the U.S. and other donors gave cash that could be spent on locally produced crops, which would stimulate agricultural expansion.
The United States Agency for International Development said Thursday that its experts carry out detailed assessments to try to ensure that commodities do not disrupt local production. Jim Kunder, USAID's acting deputy adminstrator, said $375 million is the approximate average cash value of commodities that are donated for sale.
CARE decided in 2005 to phase out accepting grain donations within four years, but the move is gaining new attention because of the current debate in the U.S. Congress over the Farm Bill, which is reauthorized every five years.
"This is a crucial time. It will set policy for the next five years," Labrada said.
The U.S. farm sector and the maritime industry are the biggest supporters of the current system. The program soaks up surplus farm production, and shippers get lucrative contracts to transport donated grain for sale in needy regions.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office published a study in April saying that emergency American food aid takes an average of 4.5 months to arrive and that legal requirements mean two-thirds of the money spent by the government on food aid goes for packing and shipping.
Washington spends an average of $2 billion on food aid programs a year, mostly funneling the help through the United Nations' World Food Program. According to some aid groups, if the U.S. gave its aid in cash rather than food, it could support about twice as many people.
In the last two farm bills, the U.S. administration called for a partial shift to cash donations instead of grain, but that was voted down by farm supporters.
According to the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development, the U.S. administration's proposals for future farm spending call for 25 percent of the food aid budget to be in cash.
The European Union has spoken out strongly against U.S. food aid policy in the Word Trade Organization, accusing Washington of using such programs to skirt rules limiting agriculture subsidies.
Christian Rasmussen, at the EU's agriculture directorate in Brussels, Belgium, said the bloc had replaced food aid with cash to ensure help gets to poor countries more quickly.
"It ensures a correct diet, because you also try to buy the proper products. It's also very cost effective because you can buy the food close to the market, unlike in the U.S. case," he said.
Like aid groups, African farmers are divided.
Ousmane Ndiaye, director of the farmer and rural worker group in the West African nation of Senegal, said dumping cheap crops undermines local agriculture.
"We have the resources that we need to nourish our population. We have land. We have men and women with the capacity to do it," he said. "We have millet here. But instead of buying the millet that comes from the middle of Senegal, some people prefer to buy sorghum from foreign countries."
In neighboring Mali, however, the secretary-general of the farmers association said foreign aid helps Malians get crops that aren't produced locally.
"We farm wheat in the north of Mali, around Timbuktu. But that's not enough for all the flour we need for bread," said Fousseyni Traore. He said Mali could never produce enough wheat because its southern areas are too wet and tropical.
The Minnesota-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy said that in 2001, the sale of donated American grain provided 30 percent of U.S. aid groups' gross revenues, totaling $1.5 billion.
Tom Getman, executive director for international relations at the aid group World Vision, said he shared CARE's concern about the system but didn't want to turn away any kind of aid.
World Vision also is pushing to get more cash donations and less food, "because we've all gotten more and more anxious about how much it costs to do the shipping and the mixed results on the ground," Getman said.
"But there is going to be a continuing need, like in (North) Korea right now, where we've got to have food available for emergency situations. So it's just finding the balance that is so tough."
___
Associated Press writers Alexander Higgins and Frank Jordans in Geneva and Heidi Vogt in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Videocon Creates Subsidiary for Timor-Leste PSC
Videocon Creates Subsidiary for Timor-Leste PSC
Videocan Industries 8/14/2007
URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=48969
Videocan Industries has incorporated an SPV, Global Energy Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, to explore for, develop and exploit Petroleum Block JPDA 06-103 and the export and marketing of that Petroleum and all activities. As such, Global Energy Inc. is part of the consortium which was awarded the JPDA 06-103 Production Sharing Contract by the Timor Sea Designated Authority.
The Participating Interest of Global Energy Inc., in the JPDA 06-103 Production Sharing Contract is 25%.
The Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) is within the Bonaparte Basin with estimated 23 Tcf (known reserves in Bonaparte Basin stated by the Australian Government during its 2004 Bid Round) of undiscovered EUR Gas Reserves. Besides Gas, there could be substantial Condensate recovery.
There is a gas field in the JPDA, namely Bayu-Undan, with 3.4 Tcf of gas reserves and 400 million barrels of condensate and LPG reserves, which exports dry gas via a 26" pipeline from Bayu-Undan to Darwin in North Western Australia where the dry gas is converted to LNG for export and sales. The condensate and LPG arc stripped from the gas at offshore facilities in the field and exported for sale by tanker.
In Production Sharing Contract 06-103, Leads 103-A and 103-C have been identified with recoverable unrisked potential of 260 million barrels of Oil or 1300 BCF gas and 130 million barrels of Oil or 571 BCF gas respectively.
In JPDA 06-103 a contract for 1657 sq kms of 3-D data acquisition has been awarded at an estimated cost of $18.6 million. 1055 sq kms of reprocessed 3-D data to the north of the block has already been acquired from Fugro. With this it would facilitate zeroing in on the 4 well locations for the commitment wells included in the Minimum Work Program.
Drilling is anticipated to start in 2008. The Company's share in the current Work Program is US $18.9 million.
Partners in JPDA Block 06-13 are Oilex as operator; Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum.
Videocan Industries 8/14/2007
URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=48969
Videocan Industries has incorporated an SPV, Global Energy Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, to explore for, develop and exploit Petroleum Block JPDA 06-103 and the export and marketing of that Petroleum and all activities. As such, Global Energy Inc. is part of the consortium which was awarded the JPDA 06-103 Production Sharing Contract by the Timor Sea Designated Authority.
The Participating Interest of Global Energy Inc., in the JPDA 06-103 Production Sharing Contract is 25%.
The Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) is within the Bonaparte Basin with estimated 23 Tcf (known reserves in Bonaparte Basin stated by the Australian Government during its 2004 Bid Round) of undiscovered EUR Gas Reserves. Besides Gas, there could be substantial Condensate recovery.
There is a gas field in the JPDA, namely Bayu-Undan, with 3.4 Tcf of gas reserves and 400 million barrels of condensate and LPG reserves, which exports dry gas via a 26" pipeline from Bayu-Undan to Darwin in North Western Australia where the dry gas is converted to LNG for export and sales. The condensate and LPG arc stripped from the gas at offshore facilities in the field and exported for sale by tanker.
In Production Sharing Contract 06-103, Leads 103-A and 103-C have been identified with recoverable unrisked potential of 260 million barrels of Oil or 1300 BCF gas and 130 million barrels of Oil or 571 BCF gas respectively.
In JPDA 06-103 a contract for 1657 sq kms of 3-D data acquisition has been awarded at an estimated cost of $18.6 million. 1055 sq kms of reprocessed 3-D data to the north of the block has already been acquired from Fugro. With this it would facilitate zeroing in on the 4 well locations for the commitment wells included in the Minimum Work Program.
Drilling is anticipated to start in 2008. The Company's share in the current Work Program is US $18.9 million.
Partners in JPDA Block 06-13 are Oilex as operator; Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum.
Aid arrives in East Timor districts
Aid arrives in East Timor districts
August 14, 2007 - 8:24PM
Emergency aid was delivered by air and land to thousands of refugees who fled homes in East Timor due to violence triggered by the appointment of a new government, officials say.
Hundreds of homes, schools and offices were torched in the eastern districts of Viqueque and Baucau after Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao was named prime minister on August 6, angering members of the former ruling party.
Efforts to reach about 4,000 people displaced by the unrest - some sheltering in churches, police stations and surrounding mountains - were restricted after armed assailants ambushed a UN convoy late last week.
Two UN helicopters delivered basic need supplies like rice, noodles, milk and tents to the area Tuesday, Vice Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres told reporters in the capital, Dili.
A 15-vehicle government convoy, guarded by 30 soldiers from the national Timorese army, was also bringing in supplies, said a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
East Timor, which became independent with UN backing in 2002, has struggled to restore stability since communal clashes last year killed 37 and drove 155,000 from their homes.
The economy is in tatters, tens of thousands live in tent camps and around a fifth of the population faced food shortages before the recent unrest.
The UN said the situation in East Timor was tense, although no major security incidents were reported. Six UN vehicles were attacked with stones Monday night, leaving a UN police officer hurt.
© 2007 AP DIGITAL
August 14, 2007 - 8:24PM
Emergency aid was delivered by air and land to thousands of refugees who fled homes in East Timor due to violence triggered by the appointment of a new government, officials say.
Hundreds of homes, schools and offices were torched in the eastern districts of Viqueque and Baucau after Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao was named prime minister on August 6, angering members of the former ruling party.
Efforts to reach about 4,000 people displaced by the unrest - some sheltering in churches, police stations and surrounding mountains - were restricted after armed assailants ambushed a UN convoy late last week.
Two UN helicopters delivered basic need supplies like rice, noodles, milk and tents to the area Tuesday, Vice Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres told reporters in the capital, Dili.
A 15-vehicle government convoy, guarded by 30 soldiers from the national Timorese army, was also bringing in supplies, said a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
East Timor, which became independent with UN backing in 2002, has struggled to restore stability since communal clashes last year killed 37 and drove 155,000 from their homes.
The economy is in tatters, tens of thousands live in tent camps and around a fifth of the population faced food shortages before the recent unrest.
The UN said the situation in East Timor was tense, although no major security incidents were reported. Six UN vehicles were attacked with stones Monday night, leaving a UN police officer hurt.
© 2007 AP DIGITAL
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