Ramos Horta ready to torpedo gas pipeline to Darwin

EAST Timor president Jose Ramos Horta yesterday threatened to thwart the development of a $108 billion gas field rather than "surrender" the project to Darwin.

"I love Australia, I feel very much part of it, the blood in my body is Australian, donated by young Australian soldiers," he said.
"But I love my country and people even more..."
"You are rich and powerful, so I have to side with my people who are weaker and poorer. I hope you understand this."
Mr Ramos Horta used his address to NT Parliament to attack the executives of Australia's second largest oil and gas producer, Woodside Petroleum.
He said East Timor was the most viable site for the Greater Sunrise oil and gas project.
"The pipeline will go where it should go. The shortest route and cheapest," he said.
"Timor Leste cannot and will not bow to pressures from the Woodside CEO millionaires."
Mr Ramos Horta said most of the men responsible for the global financial crisis work for oil and gas companies.
"We will not bow to unilateral decisions made by these infamous CEOs that manage and mismanage world economies," he said.
"I for one prefer to forestall Greater sunrise than surrender to the dictates of a bunch of oil executive millionaires." (ntnews)

HEATED: East Timorese president Jose Ramos Horta arriving at NT Parliament yesterday. Picture: Brad Fleet

Ramos Horta tells of finding his would-be assassin

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin
October 31, 2008
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EAST Timor President Jose Ramos Horta has found the man who shot and almost killed him, instantly recognising him on a visit to Dili's Becora jail.
"I stared at him," Mr Ramos Horta told The Age yesterday. "He turned away, embarrassed and couldn't look me in the eye. I have been waiting for him to come forward and confess his crimes."
Mr Ramos Horta said the man he identified as having shot him twice in the back during attacks in Dili on February 11 was not Marcelo Caetano, the rebel named as his attacker, who was hunted in East Timor's mountains by hundreds of soldiers, including Australia's SAS commandoes.
"Marcelo Caetano was wrongly accused," Mr Ramos Horta said.
"I never said it was him. It was a media beat-up."
Mr Ramos Horta realised a mistake had been made in April, when Mr Caetano, a member of renegade soldier Alfredo Reinado's gang, surrendered with other rebels.
Rather than "deep anger showed on the face of the President" when he met Mr Caetano, as one Australian newspaper reported, Mr Ramos Horta said he was, in fact, upset that a dreadful mistake had been made.
Speaking publicly for the first time about coming across his attacker, Mr Ramos Horta said the man who shot him was one of the Reinado gang, who is among a group of 22 rebels being held in Becora jail until East Timor's Prosecutor-General completes an investigation into the attacks.
"He was one of Alfredo Reinado's men, without doubt," Mr Ramos Horta said.
"Those rumours and innuendo that it was an element of the F-FDTL (East Timor's army) or somebody else who shot me are absolutely wrong."
Mr Ramos Horta, who survived the attack after emergency surgery in Darwin, said he has not asked the name of the man he identified as his attacker.
"I await the legal process," he said.
"If or when the prosecutor wants me to come face to face with the man in an identification parade, I will do it."
But Mr Ramos Horta said there was no way that he was mistaken. "I saw this man at close range — less than 20 metres," he said. "I looked at the intent in his eyes. At that precise moment I turned to run and he shot me twice in the back."
Mr Ramos Horta said he was not worried that the investigation into the attacks was still not complete.
He said East Timorese knew the basic facts about what had happened, and that prosecutions would begin in February.
"What they know is that the president was shot by elements of Alfredo Reinado on February 11," Mr Ramos Horta said.
"They know that act was absolutely unforgivable on the part of Alfredo Reinado to enter the president's compound in an aggressive and hostile manner."
Reinado, a cult hero figure, and one of his men were shot dead at Mr Ramos Horta's house.
Mr Ramos Horta was visiting Darwin yesterday where, during an address to the Northern Territory's Parliament, he urged the territory to develop close ties with East Timor . (theage)

Tinjau Ulang Batas RI-Australia di Laut Timor

Kupang (ANTARA News) - Batas wilayah perairan RI-Australia di Laut Timor yang dibuat dalam kurun waktu 1971 - 1997 harus ditinjau ulang oleh pemerintahan kedua negara menyusul disahkannya RUU Wilayah Negara menjadi UU oleh DPR-RI pada 28 Oktober 2008 di Jakarta."UU tersebut bisa dijadikan pedoman sekaligus kekuatan diplomasi baru oleh Jakarta untuk meninjau kembali seluruh batas wilayah perairan antara RI-Australia di Laut Timor yang dibuat sejak 1971-1997," kata Ferdi Tanoni, Ketua Pokja Celah Timor dan Direktur Yayasan Peduli Timor Barat (YPTB) di Kupang, Kamis.Penulis buku "Skandal Laut Timor, Sebuah Barter Politik Ekonomi Canberra-Jakarta, 2008" itu mengatakan, UU itu bisa digunakan Jakarta untuk segera menetapkan satu batas maritim permanen antara RI-Timor Leste yang belum pernah dibahas sejak Timor Timur lepas dari Indonesia pada 30 Agustus 1999.Mantan agen imigrasi Australia itu menyatakan, batas wilayah perairan RI-Australia di Laut Timor versi 1991-1997 sangat merugikan Indonesia karena hampir 80 persen wilayah perairan di Laut Timor dikuasai Australia untuk kepentingan bisnis minyak dan gas bumi (migas).Wilayah perairan Laut Timor sangat kaya dengan sumber daya alam seperti minyak dan gas bumi sehingga Australia menggebu-gebu menguasai hampir seluruh wilayah perairan itu sampai mengusir nelayan tradisional Indonesia yang berlayar di Laut Timor yang telah dilakukan mereka sejak berabad-abad lalu."UU Wilayah Negara ini sangat kita tunggu-tunggu karena sudah 63 tahun merdeka, negara kita tidak mempunyai UU yang mengatur tentang batas wilayah negara sehingga melemahkan posisi Indonesia dalam mempertahankan kedaulatan negaranya. Timor Leste yang baru merdeka saja sudah memiliki UU Batas Wilayah Negara," urainya.Tanoni menilai garis batas laut antara Indonesia dengan Timor Leste dan Australia di sekitar Celah Timor masih bermasalah dan harus dirundingkan kembali."Kita harapkan UU itu menjadi amunisi baru bagi Indonesia dalam merundingkan kembali batas wilayah perairannya dengan Australia dan Timor Leste di Laut Timor," harapnya. (Antara)

New Zealand surgeons remove 3.3kg tumour from East Timorese baby

AN East Timorese baby has had a tumour the third of his body weight removed in a life-saving operation in New Zealand.
The 3.3kg tumour was removed by volunteer surgeons at Wellington Hospital in the capital at the weekend, the Dominion-Post newspaper reported.
The tumour would have eventually killed the 14-month-old boy had the surgical team not stepped in, said Bill Day, chairman of the Wellington Hospital and Health Foundation and local Rotary Club president - which organised the trip to New Zealand.
Little Alex Gonzaga and his mother Elisa Da Conceicao flew to Wellington from Dili about two weeks ago for the operation involving a 10-strong surgical team.
Everything went according to plan and the benign tumour was removed from around his crucial organs in record time - about two hours - on Sunday.
"It has just been stunning, everyone pitching in to save his life," Mr Day said. Alex, who weighed about 11kg before the surgery, is expected to make a full recovery and will be ready to go home in a few days.
Alex's tumour was spotted by a doctor in East Timor. He was examined further on a visiting medical ship and referred to the Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children program (Romac).
Brendon Bowkett, who led the surgical team that operated on Alex, is a pediatric surgeon and a frequent visitor to East Timor to operate on children there.
"It is not just one child that benefits. It benefits the kids we treat here because it adds to our experience and when the child goes home the villagers see positive results. It is very rewarding," he said. (news.com.au)

Pic: Alex Gonzaga, 14 months, from East Timor, had a 3.3kg tumour removed by volunteer surgeons in Wellington / Supplied

Ex-army officer blames wife for $1m fraud

A retired army major is blaming his ex-wife for a series of frauds that cost investors almost $1 million.
His wife, Jennifer Margaret McIntyre, has already pleaded guilty to the fraud charges.
Today George Frederick McIntyre, 54, went on trial for in Christchurch District Court denying the joint offending, the Christchurch Court News website reported.
Defence counsel James Rapley told the court: "Some of these investors were deceived. Some of them were told outright lies to ensure they parted with their money. But these acts or deceits were practised by Mrs Jennifer McIntyre and were done without Mr McIntyre's knowledge."
McIntyre denies charges of conspiring with his wife to defraud the public, and one charge of obtaining $10,000 by deception.
McIntyre served in East Timor and retired from the army in 2002, when he became self-employed as an insurance agent.
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) prosecutor Nicholas Till said the couple married in 1980 and separated in 2003.
They were shareholders and directors of companies called G F and J M McIntyre, Cromac Group Limited, Cromac Group International Ltd, and Cromac Pacific Ltd, a company registered in Fiji.
The SFO said they jointly or separately, or working as a team, offered financial and budgeting advice and encouraged investments at a good rate of return - sometimes 12 percent a year.
Over several years to February 2004 they received $1,438,000 from investors and provided deeds of guarantee even though they had no assets of their own.
The investors were almost all army personnel investing their savings or superannuation payments.
The funds were used for the McIntyres' business expenses, personal expenses, and hire purchase payments for themselves and their children.
No investments or purchases of assets were made on behalf of the investors. New investors were never warned that their financial position meant they were unlikely to be repaid.
"In some instances, investors were repaid but these repayments were made from money obtained from new investors," said Mr Till.
In 2004, the McIntyres were adjudicated bankrupt with a loss of $996,341 to those who had placed investments with them.
Mr Rapley said McIntyre had been involved in several projects including exporting ostrich products to China, a land development at Lake Tekapo, and humanitarian projects with an emphasis on East Timor.
All these businesses existed, but the funds were lost because the businesses failed. The money had been obtained from a range of people as loans.
The trial is before Judge Raoul Neave and a jury. (odt.co.nz)

New Book Opens Eyes To East Timor

UQ journalism lecturer Heather Stewart jumped at the chance to follow an Australian volunteer eye clinic team to East Timor earlier this year, and has recently published her first book about the experience. Saving Sight Saving a Nation captures the blindness epidemic in East Timor via a series of stunning photographs, and was launched by leading Brisbane eye surgeon Dr Kevin Vandeleur on October 18. Dr Vandeleur is part of the East Timor Eye Program (ETEP), a volunteer effort aimed at eradicating preventable blindness in the fledgling nation by 2020. Taking photographic equipment, in addition to an audio and camera crew, Ms Stewart (from Fig Tree Pocket), independently traveled to Dili and joined the eye clinic team at the ramshackle hospital in the city to record their work. "It was a shock by any standards to see how Dili was still struggling despite having independence," Ms Stewart said. "I was determined to come back to Australia and tell the story about how desperate blind people are in East Timor and give credit to the volunteers who are trying so hard to help." On her return Ms Stewart generated content for ABC News and Lateline about the state of camps in the major regions housing over 100,000 displaced East Timorese. Her feature about the ETEP also appeared on the Channel Nine Sunday program. "I was expecting Timor to be further advanced and I really felt for the displaced people and was grateful they gave me a chance to tell their story," she said. The ETEP uses volunteer teams from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, International Centre for Eyecare Education and the ProVision Optometry Team, who provide services to help and prevent curable blindness in the East Timorese population. Project founder Dr Nitin Verma, an opthalmologist based in Hobart, said more than 30,000 patients have been seen by the group and more than 3,000 operations have been carried out. "I can tell you that the joy that you get when the bandage is remove and the patient has seen and the smile that you get is all that you want, and it hasn't faded," Dr Verma said. Ms Stewart followed the eye clinic team for a week in Dili and also visited Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's home to interview him and his wife - Australian-born first lady Kirsty Sword Gusmao. A few days later there was an assassination attempt on his life and President Jose Ramos Horta, highlighting the political instability in East Timor and the plight of the Timorese. "It made me realise even more how important it was to come home and tell the story that something good was happening in East Timor," Ms Stewart said. Saving Sight Saving a Nation will be available in eye surgeries across Australia and East Timor, with all proceeds donated to the Timor Eye Clinic Program. It can also be ordered online. (medilexicon)

Migrants stranded in East Timor cheated out of hope - Feature

Dili - Last Saturday, 16 Tamil men waited eagerly on the south coast of East Timor for a boat to take them to Australia. They were near the end of their journey and they'd spent the last of their money, but it didn't matter. They knew a better life was only 650 kilometers across the sea.
However, the boat never arrived and instead they were arrested and thrown in jail for three days. Now, they are broke, jobless, without legal representation and some are about to be homeless.
The men say they will be killed if they return to their home in Sri Lanka and they don't know where to go, but all of them would like to leave East Timor.
They claim to be refugees from Sri Lanka's civil war where they survived kidnappings, bombings and have lost family members. So the men, either alone or in small groups, set out for a better life.
Two of them have lived in Timor six years and have families with Timorese women, others have been here only weeks. But all ended up in the country by accident, victims of scams which bilked them out of thousands of dollars and broken promises of safe, legal passage to Australia.
Some of the men said it took them years to save up the money they gave to their agents. But when they arrived in Timor, they found they had no connecting flights or tickets waiting and slowly realized they were not going to Australia. Then they realized they were stuck in one of the poorest countries in Asia.
So, a few weeks ago, when an Indonesian man named Frankie offered them a boat, the men paid him a total of 3,700 dollars to take them finally to their new home. Instead, they got cheated once more.
Sinnathurai Baheerathan left Sri Lanka six years ago, afraid for his life. "Sri Lanka is a very difficult land with many problems," he said. "Every day 20 or 30 people die."
He said he left everything behind. In six years he has never called home once. Today he has a Timorese wife and a child, but his life in Timor has not been easy.
In 2006, East Timor was rocked by months of civil unrest and hundreds of homes and business were torched, including his. Two years on, Baheerathan still gets up every day hours before sunrise and begins to fry dough, which he sells in one of the Dili markets. The dough balls sell for five cents each and Baheerathan said he can make up to 2 dollars a day.
A few months ago he and a Tamil neighbor met Frankie. "Every time he came over to the house to eat with us he would ask us, where would you like to go," said Baheerathan.
He said Frankie made similar offers to ex-pats from the Indian community. "He said he had already been [to Australia] two or three times." (earthtimes)