Gas plant chief's threat to move to East Timor

THE natural gas industry has made a last-minute call for compensation under an emissions trading scheme, as the Federal Government puts its finishing touches to the system.
The chief executive of Woodside, Don Voelte, threatened to put a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas plant on a ship in East Timorese waters, rather than Australian, unless the company was granted compensation.
The Government has so far been adamant that LNG would not be eligible for compensation, but Woodside has lobbied aggressively for a change.
Yesterday, the Minister for Industry, Kim Carr, hinted that the Government had listened to concerns raised by the industry since a green paper on the scheme was made public in July."I'm confident we can get through this without serious difficulties in terms of ensuring that we have a well-designed program that protects the Australian economy and at the same time protects our environment," he told Network Ten.
Mr Voelte has argued that LNG exporters should be considered in the same light as other exporters whose international competitors do not have to pay for a carbon trading scheme.
Mr Carr would not rule out changes to the compensation details that were announced in July. The final version of the scheme will be unveiled in a white paper in the next three weeks. (smh)

Australian PM influenced Indonesian president's decision on East Timor

The former Indonesian President, B.J. Habibie has revealed he was pushed into making a quick decision on East Timor's independence because of a letter from Australia's Prime Minister at the time, John Howard.In 1998 Mr Howard suggested the East Timorese be given the chance to vote on independence in ten years.It was a major change in Australia's policy.Mr Howard has told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's TV Program, The Howard Years, he didn't think it would lead to a fast change in Indonesia's stance.Doctor Habibie told the same program he wasn't pleased by the suggestion that he resolve the matter over time."That means prepare them for 10 years or whatever and then after that give them their independence. ""So as I read that I was upset. It is John Howard who make me make a quick decision." (australianetwork)

Fearless filmmaker wins youth award

A young Sydney filmmaker who spent time with East Timor rebel leader Alfredo Reinado as he waged a battle against government forces has won the top film prize at this year's Spirit Of Youth Awards (SOYA).

Rebecca Parker, 26, is finishing work on Rebel Soldier, a full-length documentary about East Timor's short but turbulent history.
Parker filmed the charismatic rebel leader as he led his rebellion during 2006.
Reinado was killed by guards in February this year during an attack that saw President Jose Ramos Horta shot and critically wounded in the capital, Dili.
"I have had to carry the burden of the project myself including doing the camera, lighting, sound [and] filming in the jungle with the rebel soldiers in precarious situations," Parker said.
She is among six young Australians and a group of young rockers who walked away last night with $10,000 in cash, airline tickets and year-long mentorships from leaders in their fields.
The winners were among 1,600 artists who submitted more than 10,000 works in the award categories of film, music, fashion, photography, industrial and object design, visual art and visual communications.
The awards, in their fifth year, accept work from artists aged 30 and younger.
Industry heavyweights including fashion designer Carla Zampatti, actor Rachel Ward and television and radio presenter Adam Spencer were among the many to walk the red carpet at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art.
They were treated to a music performance by Melbourne-based music winner My Disco - comprised of band members Ben Andrews, Rohan Rebeiro and Liam Andrews, all aged 29 and who will be mentored by music producer Scott Horscroft.
The band has toured the world for the past five years and sees the award as a leg up.
"We have much more planned with the aid of SOYA," the band said.
"No rest!"(abc.net)

PIC Rebecca Parker: Winner of a Spirit Of Youth award. (AAP: Tracey Nearmy)

John Howard flew solo on big decisions

THREE of the biggest decisions of the Howard years - the GST, the intervention in East Timor and the Pacific solution - were decided with virtually no consultation with cabinet, it can be revealed for the first time.
A new television documentary, which is based on more than 20 hours of interviews with John Howard and 180 hours of interviews with key players in Australia and overseas, confirms how dominant the former prime minister was in running the affairs of the nation for almost 12 years.
Former foreign minister Alexander Downer reveals how one of the most controversial policies of the Howard years - the so-called Pacific solution under which asylum-seekers from Australia were moved to neighbouring island nations - was devised.
Mr Howard had told him: "Go and find someone who will take them."
Mr Downer said: "So I went back up to my office and got my staff together there and said: 'Well, now we are literally going to have to think up a country to send these people, that'll take them.'
"One of my staff, she said: 'Well look, you had that call from Rene Harris, the President of Nauru, a week or so ago pleading for two or three hundred thousand dollars, so he could pay for some oil, what about ringing him?"'
The interviews are from The Howard Years, a four-part series to begin on ABC TV on November 17.
Filmed and edited in the style of Labor in Power, which chronicled the Hawke and Keating years, the series contains scores of admissions and revelations about some of the most contentious issues during Mr Howard's term.
Mr Howard says he regrets having worn a bullet-proof vest at a gun rally, saying he felt like "a goose"; businessman Chris Corrigan, who divided public opinion when he brought guard dogs on to the waterfront to Australia, says "the dogs were my idea"; and Peter Costello says the words from a leaked internal party memo describing the government as mean and tricky "didn't come back to haunt me so much as to haunt John Howard". But the predominant theme of the series is the all-pervasive influence of Mr Howard over key decisions of the time.
Apart from the Pacific solution not going to cabinet before it was constructed, the GST and East Timor also were decided upon without cabinet consultation. Former Howard chief of staff Grahame Morris says there was "no great discussion" about a GST because the government feared that if it got the bureaucracy to work on it details would leak.
"He (Mr Howard) felt there had to be change to the tax system but there was no great discussion about this," Mr Morris says. "There was no great plan - 'Hey, fellas, if we do a GST andwhat not, what will that mean? Let's have the bureaucracy work on it', all that sort of stuff - because the minute you start doing that those sort of things leak."
Supporting that lack of consultation about the largest tax reform in Australian history, then finance minister John Fahey reveals he was shocked when Mr Howard announced on television that he was going to introduce a tax system with a GST.
"I will never forget the moment I listened to the PM on Sunday television announcing that we're about to embark upon a new tax system underpinned by a GST," Mr Fahey says.
"I suspect at that moment that the expletive that came out of my mouth came out of the mouth of many colleagues around Australia and I remember saying to my wife when I finally composed myself, 'Fasten your seatbelt, we're in for a rough ride' - and that was pretty true too."
Howard adviser Arthur Sinodinos made it clear the office knew how radical a GST was.
According to a colleague, Mr Sinodinos said: "We've taken a boat, we've sailed it down the coast of Africa and we've gone into the jungle and pulled out the meanest, nastiest gorilla we could find, sailed back to Australia and let it loose on the streets."
That same lack of consultation is clear regarding Mr Howard's historic letter of December 19, 1998, to then Indonesian president BJ Habibie telling him Australia was changing its policy and backing for the first time an act of self-determination for East Timor. Says then deputy prime minister Tim Fischer: "Let me tell you something: the most important letter ever written during the Coalition government's period of office, leading to the creation of East Timor, never went to cabinet."
The ABC has interviewed US President George W. Bush, who, in reference to the events of September 11, 2001, says of his relationship with Mr Howard: "In many ways our friendship was forged in fire, the fire of war."
Mr Bush says of Mr Howard: "He may not look like someone who plays on the scrum of the Australian rugby team but believe me he's plenty tough."
Shortly after the interview, as he is taking the ABC crew on a tour of the White House to show them a picture of his mother, Mr Bush says: "That prime minister of yours, he's a tough little dude."
Mr Costello's bitterness comes through. In reference to the famous memo written by then Liberal Party president Shane Stone that said the government was seen as mean and tricky, Mr Costello says: "Why write it? That's incompetent. And why leak it? That's treachery.
"Look, if there was one copy and it was written by Shane (Stone) and given to John (Howard), the leak's come from one of those two sources." (theaustralia)

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
==================

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)

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)

Church weighs into abortion debate in East Timor

A move to soften tough abortion laws in mainly Catholic East Timor is stirring opposition from the powerful Church.
Activists are backing a proposed law that would loosen the country’s blanket ban and allow abortions for women whose lives are in danger. But Church leaders have refused to drop their objections that the bill, scheduled to be voted on by parliament next month, violates basic religious teachings.“The Church is opposing this because they always see abortion as a crime,” said Filomena Barros dos Reis from the Alola Foundation women’s rights group.East Timor’s current law, which was copied from Indonesia’s criminal code during the country’s 24-year occupation, bans abortion in all cases.The new bill contains stiff jail terms of between two and eight years for abortionists and women who get abortions. It would also not allow abortions in the case of rape or incest.But dos Reis said she has told Church leaders that allowing abortions in the case of potentially fatal health problems would save lives.“We still have a lot of pros and cons because the community of Timor-Leste, they still trust the Church ... so we are still discussing with the Church,” she said, using the country’s official name.Justice Minister Lucia Lobato said last week that the proposed law would not significantly liberalise the government’s strongly anti-abortion stance.“The general principle is that abortion is a crime,” she said. “So a mother or a pregnant woman who gets an abortion, consciously or unconsciously, it’s still a crime and it has to be processed legally so punishment can be made.” The one exception, she said, was if a doctor certified that the pregnancy was a threat to the mother’s life.This has proven too much for the Catholic Church.“In principle, the Church worldwide doesn’t agree with abortion under any conditions because we have the technology to protect mothers, such as transplants,” Pastor Martinho Gusmao said in an interview last week.Impoverished East Timor, which gained independence in 2002 after more than two decades of Indonesian occupation, has the world’s highest fertility rate, with the average woman giving birth to eight children, says the UN. (taipeitimes)

East Timor tries to buy some time

By Matt Crook

DILI - The streets of Dili are quiet - for now. Clashes between rival gangs have subsided and thousands have finally returned to their homes after fleeing the fighting that erupted in East Timor in 2006. But behind the veneer of calm, the entrenched conflicts that sparked that street violence simmer. The opposition Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) is engaged in a war of words with East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. For weeks, FRETILIN members have promised - without announcing a date - to hold a "peace march" in Dili, which many fear could instigate new clashes. Fueling the fire, Gusmao threatened on Monday to arrest any anti-government protesters who joined such a march. United Nations troops are preparing to pull out of East Timor, but there are rising concerns that the new island country's national police force, the Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL), is woefully ill-prepared to take over their security responsibilities, despite a series of UN training programs. East Timor is once again at a potential tipping point, with fears that political friction, police factionalism, an east-west divide, police-military animosity and high unemployment could lead to a repeat of the 2006 violence, when 37 people were killed and up to 150,000 fled their homes. East Timor's history has been plagued with infighting, which until 1999 was directed mainly at Indonesian occupiers. FRETILIN is still irked: after winning the popular vote in the 2007 parliamentary election the party watched rival Jose Ramos-Horta form a coalition government led by the second placing party, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT). FRETILIN secretary general Mari Alkatiri said in an interview, "We never recognize the government because we won the election and the president of the parliament decided to invite the second-most-voted party to form the government. We want to have a government that can rule our country without corruption, without nepotism and with competency." The purpose of the FRETILIN-proposed peace march is to push for new elections, as well as to "show clearly who is who in this country and who has the most support from the people and to prove that this government has no legitimacy," Alkatiri said. FRETILIN's has little to gain should its proposed march devolve into anarchy, but there are other worrisome factors that could lead to new rounds of violence. Much rides on the PNTL's ability to handle a demonstration and the possibility of riots, analysts say. PNTL Operational Commander Mateus Fernandes said in an interview that his men are "100% ready to hold security". The PNTL, which has 3,194 officers and about 500 based in Dili, has found it difficult to handle even minor public disturbances. At a student protest in June, PNTL officers fired tear gas and made 51 arrests. At a job fair held earlier this month, warning shots were fired as a group of jobseekers broke through a barricade. Later, at a pop concert on October 15, PNTL officers struggled to deal with a heaving crowd of young men, occasionally beating them back with batons. The PNTL was established in 2002 by the UN, at the time the new country's transitional governing authority. Supporting the PNTL now are 2,600 UN Police (UNPOL) and International Stabilization Force (ISF) troops stationed throughout the country. But even with that aid and armed presence, the PTNL has been strained to maintain law and order during volatile situations. Some security experts point to alleged shortcomings of the UN's training of the PNTL, which aimed to build it rapidly into a credible, professional force. The UN has a mandate until mid-February, although the handover of power to local forces is unlikely to take place until mid-2009. There is an alphabet soup of factions within the PNTL, including the UIR, URP, UPF, SIP, CSP, NID, each wearing a different uniform and resulting in parallel policing with different police groups operating independently. Some believe divisions between these factions would make it difficult for the PNTL to launch a cohesive response to major future disturbances. "PNTL do their own thing. Some of them work with UNPOL, some of them don't. Even with UNPOL here, there were still weeks when it was complete anarchy," said a security expert from a non-governmental organization based in Dili. "The PNTL and the military have pointed weapons at UNPOL on many occasions and told them to get lost. Once those things start to happen, you can't go back and reverse it."

East-west divide

The problems don't end there, however. Tensions have recently intensified in Dili with the circulation of an anonymous leaflet threatening violence against the government if someone from the eastern region of the country is appointed as the new police commander in November. The leaflet also airs perennial complaints about discrimination in the government structure favoring those who hail from the east side of the country over those from the west. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the letter and the government has been cagey about its relevance. State Secretary for Security Francisco Gutteres said, "I don't believe the leaflet is a concern, although we still have no idea who wrote it." The east-west regional divide was highlighted in 2006 when Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak fired 600 mostly western soldiers, known as the Petitioners, after they abandoned their posts to protest against alleged discrimination in rank promotions. The controversial move was known to be supported by Alkatiri. That pique played a large part in the violence that later erupted, where clashes between the police, army, youth groups and others spilled onto the streets and international peacekeepers were called on to help restore order. Ramos-Horta and Gusmao were at the time both engaged in a political battle with Alkatiri and both played the Petitioner's grievances to their political advantage, including through organized protests and a nationally televised address criticizing the military's move. East Timor's armed forces, the Falintil-Forcas de Defesa de Timor Leste (F-FDTL), now comprises soldiers mostly from the country's eastern region, where Ruak is known to have considerable support. At the same time, he faces possible prosecution for his role in arming civilians during the 2006 riots. A UN-commissioned report found that Ruak provided weapons to former freedom fighters that had been part of the Forcas Armadas da Libertacao Nacional de Timor-Leste (Falintil), FRETILIN's former military wing. Whether Ruak will ever be prosecuted is up in the air, with fears that if there were tension between the army and the police could lead to new clashes. Two years later, the grievances of the Petitioners have yet to be resolved. Those who were fired by the government have received lump-sum payoffs, which have kept them quiet, although the issue of discrimination was never addressed. Meanwhile, military members who stayed loyal to their posts are left disillusioned that the soldiers they see as traitors have received handsome payouts. Ramos-Horta's and Gusmao's government has increasingly taken to paying people in a bid to smooth tensions. For instance, displaced citizens have received funds in the form of government-provided recovery packages, usually between $500 and $4,500 per family. However, deals still need to be made with the people who have been squatting in the houses of the displaced on their return. Just as crucial to Dili's stability are the Timorese gangs and martial arts groups that played a significant role in the 2006 violence. Unemployment in Dili is staggering, with more than 40% for the 20-24 year-old demographic jobless. Their prospects are constrained by low education levels, as less than 50% of the country's children make it through six years of learning. The education gap is open to manipulation and youthful frustrations have previously been expressed through violence. Peace negotiations between rivals gangs and the introduction of a PNTL special task force in 2007 has so far held a tenuous peace, but with such a large group of disenfranchised youth, the issues that drove them to the streets two years ago are still in place. It's unclear whether FRETILIN has the support or funds to stage a mass protest to mobilize these groups to its cause, but with so much else bubbling beneath the surface, East Timor's future as a stable, independent nation is still very much in doubt. (atimes)

Matt Crook is a East Timor-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at writer@whatismatt.com

E Timor Opposition defends 'Peace March'

East Timor's Opposition Leader has rejected Government accusations that the Fretilin party is stoking security tensions by planning a mass demonstration.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao says the Government will not hesitate to arrest violent demonstrators.
Mari Alkatiri has told Radio Australia it is Fretilin's democratic right to hold its so-called Peace March, just as it is the Government's right to arrest violent people.
He says the Government was trying to blame others for its own mistakes.
"They've been trying to solve problems by using only money, but not to solve the political problems through political means, that they've failed," he said.
"The Government has failed at all levels, and they're trying to blame others for their own mistakes."
Fretilin has not named a date for its mass demonstration.
Violence between eastern and western factions in East Timor flared in May 2006, killing 37 people and displacing 150,000 East Timorese.
Mr Alkatiri says his party was not behind an anonymous pamphlet circulating in Dili threatening more violence if a person from the island is named the new commander of the police force.
"Fretilin has nothing to do with this kind of issue," he said.
"Xanana has to be blamed for this kind of 'east and west' in Timor Leste. He was the one in 2006 to divide the country into east and west, Xanana himself." (abc.net)

Australia to cut E Timor troops to 650

Australia is to withdraw the number of soldiers operating in East Timor because of the improved security situation, the federal government has announced.
Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said the Australian Defence Force would cut back its total force presence in East Timor to approximately 650 personnel by early next year.
Currently, the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF) comprises around 750 Australian troops plus some from New Zealand.
"The reduction in the total number of deployed personnel under Operation Astute is appropriate given improvements in the security situation in East Timor," Mr Fitzgibbon said in a statement on Wednesday.
He said the Australian government was encouraged by the growing ability of the East Timorese agencies, with support from the United Nations, to deal with security.
"The East Timorese authorities have shown through their professional handling of the security situation that the time is now right for some draw-down of the Australian ISF presence," he said.
Following the draw-down, the force will total 790 Australian and New Zealand personnel.
Mr Fitzgibbon said there was no change to the mission and Australian and New Zealand troops would continue to play a key role in East Timor's security.
"The ISF will continue to provide security support to the government of East Timor and the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) in order to maintain a stable environment," he said.
Mr Fitzgibbon said Australia would also maintain the ability to rapidly reinforce the ISF at short notice if required, as was demonstrated earlier this year following the assassination attempt directed at the nation's political leaders.
He said Australia remained committed to supporting the government of East Timor in developing its Defence Force and maintaining security and stability. (news.theage)

Tuna under threat in key SE Asia ecosystem: WWF

JAKARTA - Key tuna species are under threat from overfishing in Asia's diverse Coral Triangle region and a drastic rethink is needed to stave off collapse, environmental group WWF said Tuesday.
Tuna species in the triangle, including heavily overfished bluefin and bigeye tuna, are under increasing pressure as fleets move in from depleted fishing grounds in other parts of the world, WWF researcher Lida Pet Soede said.
The Coral Triangle -- which is bounded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor -- contains spawning and nursery grounds as well as migratory routes for up to 89 percent of the world's tuna catch, according to the WWF.
The triangle is one of the most biologically diverse areas on earth.
"The larger context of the Coral Triangle, where there still are very important spawning grounds for a number of very valuable tuna species is critical," Soede said.
A decision last week by Spain, Japan and other countries to close down bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean will mean more fishing ships will move into the triangle, Soede said
"Regional collaboration around management of this global commodity is pretty obvious. If you can't agree on managing this commodity together, everybody is going to get hurt," she said.
Representatives from the six Coral Triangle nations, fishing companies and WWF are meeting in the Indonesian capital until Thursday to discuss ways of curbing overfishing in the area.
Discussions are set to include the creation of a carbon-trading style system to pay countries with large spawning grounds such as Indonesia in return for reducing fishing of tuna, Soede said.
Saut Hutagalung, a senior official in the Indonesian fisheries ministry, said the country was struggling to regulate tuna fishing by a fleet of mostly small, unlicensed boats.
Indonesia has no effective quota system for species apart from the lucrative bluefin tuna, prized for sushi and sashimi, Hutagalung said.
The archipelago nation produced 700,000 tons of tuna in 2007, he said. (abs-cbnnews)

BRUNEI BLAST TIMOR TO GO TOP

PHNOM PENH (21 Oct 2008) – Brunei blasted Timor Leste 4-1 to go top of the standings in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 qualifiers here at the National Olympic Stadium.With Laos beating the Philippines 2-1 in an earlier match, it has made the chase for the two only available spots into the next round still open.“It was an excellent game and it was tough until the final whistle,” said Vjeran Simunic, the head coach for Brunei.“But we were going for the positive result as we needed the points to make sure that we have a good chance to qualify into the next round.”With Timor looking a shade off colour as captain Alfredo Esteves looking a little restrained, it allowed Brunei more space to push forward.It did not take too long for Brunei to go in front where in the ninth minute off a short pass from the left, prolific striker Mohd Shahraezn Said blasted home to put them in front.Timor continued to struggle after that and with the failure to win the midfield battles, their stray passes added to the confusion of the forwards as Brunei continued to stamp their authority.In the 26th minute, Shahrazen was again on target when he headed home a well-executed cross from Sairol Sahari to put the sultanate in a confident mood as they head into the dressing room at the half.The second half saw Simunic urging his lads on and in the 57th minute, Brunei nailed their third goal of the evening when a clever chip from the midfield was put well beyond the reach of Timor keeper Leonel Araujo by the nippy Mohd Azwan Saleh.Brunei gave then gave themselves an unassiable lead in the 76th minute with a penalty from Sallehuddin Damit although Timor did pull a goal back ten minutes to the end from Rosito Soares.“Brunei started the match better than us,” lamented Pedro Almeida, the head coach for Timor Leste.“We made two mistakes earlier in the game and they scored both times. That is football.” (aseanfootball)

East Timor nabs Aussie-bound job seekers

Sixteen Sri Lankans and four Indonesians have been detained in East Timor over a plot to illegally sail to Australia, authorities say.
The men were arrested in Betano village, on East Timor's south coast, while preparing to board an Indonesian fishing boat.
Officials said the men had admitted they were planning to travel to Australia.
"Some of them say they (were trying to) enter Australia to look for jobs," said the deputy director of East Timor's immigration department, Boavida Ribeiro.
The Sri Lankans were believed to have entered East Timor overland from Indonesia, while the Indonesians sailed the boat from Betun port, in West Timor, Ribeiro said.
"It was a small boat (and) in poor condition," he said.
Authorities in East Timor say they have not caught many people trying to travel to Australia illegally.
"(The last time) was in 2007 when we (detained) five people," Ribeiro said.
The men are being held in Dili's police watch-house.
Authorities are unsure at this stage if the men are part of a wider people smuggling or trafficking operation.
The immigration department expects an investigation will be complete by the end of this week.
The International Office for Migration in East Timor said they have offered assistance to the group. (nz.news)

SO CLOSE BUT YET SO FAR FOR TIMOR LESTE

PHNOM PENH (19 Oct 2008) – It was a case of coming so close but yet so far for Timor Leste when they gave away a two-goal lead to be held to a 2-2 draw by hosts Cambodia on the second match day of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 qualifiers at the National Olympic Stadium.The score at the end of the first half was 1-0 when Anggisu Barbosa slammed home the lead with seconds left to the breather before Jose Perreira added the second goal through a penalty in the 67th minute.But Cambodia, who had beaten Laos 3-2 in their opening game two days earlier, replied through a 78th minute penalty from Khim Borey before Sun Sovannarith grabbed the equalizer ten minutes to the end.“The most important is that we got the one point,” said Prak Sovannara, the head coach of Cambodia afterwards.“We came back after being two goals down and that speaks a lot about the ability of the players and personally, it is a wonderful result.”It was Cambodia who were the early aggressors with Ieng Saknida testing Timor keeper Leonel Araujo with a 25metre drive that went over the crossbar.Four minutes later, it was Timor’s turn when Manuel Pereira’s cross for the waiting Rosito Soares at the far end was denied by Cambodia keeper Samreth Seiha.Cambodia had the lions’s share of the exchange and in the 13th minute a header from Sun Sovannarith was blocked while some time afterwards, a swerving freekick from Chan Rithy was punched out of play by Leonel.But there was no denying Timor the lead in the 45th minute when off a cross from captain Alfredo Esteves from the right, Anggisu flicked the ball in from the far post.The break saw no changes to the way both teams played although Manuel Pereira played more as the lone striker as Timor tried to contain the pressure from the hosts who were cheered by more than 12,000 fans.With Cambodia failing to score even though they did bring in veteran midfielder Pich Sina in the 56th minute, Timor went further ahead when Jose Pereira converted a penalty in the 67th minute after Cambodian keeper Ouk Mic was penalized for bringing in down Maneul Pereira inside the box.Cambodia took a more offensive stance and they finally turned the game on its head when following sustained pressure, Timor conceced a penalty after captain Esteves was penalized for a fault on Sovannarith inside the box.Khim Borey delivered the goal from the spot to give Cambodia some glimmer of hope of stealing the one point.And they did just that in the 80th minute when Sovannarith slammed home the equalizer off a rebound.“We played well in the first half but we were under a lot of pressure in the second half,” said Pedro Almeida, the head coach for Timor Leste.“We had to defend a lot and that tires the team. But the one point is good against Cambodia.” (aseanfootball)

BORROMEO BREAKS TIMOR’S HEART

PHNOM PENH (17 Oct 2008) – A solitary strike from Alexander Borromeo in the second half of an evenly contested match gave the Philippines a well-deserved 1-0 win over Timor Leste in the opening match of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 qualifiers here at the National Olympic Stadium. The score was a far cry from the 7-0 beating Timor Leste suffered in the last qualifiers in 2006 which was played in Bacolod City – a thought not lost on Philippines head coach Juan Cutillas.“Sure, the Philippines beat them 7-0 in the last match but that was played at a neutral venue and also Timor did not have some of the quality players they have now,” said Cutillas.“Timor played very well but we deserved to win because we created a lot of chances.”Playing under sweltering conditions, both teams were a little slow off the block where Philippines only created the first chance in the 12th minute off a header from Ian Araneta but which went wide.Two minutes later, Timor fought back through Manuel Pereira but even though he managed to beat the off-side trap, he just could not get the last touch as both teams contend with the deadlock at the break.The failure of either Philippines or Timor to put some muscle at the centre of the park meant that the midfield struggle continued in the second half.Philippines then carved their first goal after the break in the 68th minute when Borromeo slammed home the lead following a botched freekick.Timor had a great chance of stealing the one point but their goal was disallowed after the second linesmen spotted a technical fault with the ball not being in play.“I enjoyed the way we played,” said Pedro Almeida, the head coach of Timor Leste.“And the disallowed goal was the mistake of our goalkeeper, so there’s no contention on that. We will just pick up from what we have shown here and improve to our next game.”(aseanfootball)

Climate Change, Global Credit Crisis Deepen Poverty and Hunger in East Timor

By Phil Mercer

Sydney

16 October 2008

Aid agencies warn that East Timor faces a food crisis and more than half of its youngest children are going hungry as global food prices soar. A new survey reveals that more than 70 percent of households across East Timor are unable to find enough to eat each day for almost half the year. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

A group of international aid organizations says that East Timor's "hungry season", which usually lasts for a couple of months, now extends for almost half of the year.The number of children under age five suffering from chronic malnutrition has hit as high as 59 percent in many areas. In some districts the food crisis has touched 90 percent of households.Aid workers say the global financial meltdown has contributed to the problem, as jobs are lost and donors cut back aid, while food prices have spiraled upward. Charities estimate that an extra 100 million people have been pushed closer to hunger in other parts of Asia, the Pacific and Africa, as well. Andrew Hewett, the executive director of Oxfam Australia, says changing weather patterns have cut into East Timor's harvests."We are finding that climate change is causing problems for people's livelihoods and people's food security in that country," Hewett said. "It was already a pretty desperate situation in East Timor. People were used to the idea that for at least a couple of months a year that they just did not have enough food. The problem is that that period has got greater."Despite turmoil in international financial markets, charities urge wealthier countries to support emergency food programs.Aid workers have reported similar problems in Cambodia and the Solomon Islands, where children are increasingly surviving on just one meal a day.It has been a hard road for East Timor since independence from Indonesia in 2002. It suffers ethnic and regional divisions, and youth unemployment is above 60 percent.In addition, a rebellion by disaffected soldiers in 2006 triggered violence that killed more than 30 people and forced 150,000 residents from their homes. Thousands remain in refugee camps. (VAONews)