The Balibó Five

Yet another investigation into the deaths of the Balibó Five will soon be underway.This one will take the form of a NSW Coroner's Inquest into the death of Brian Peters.There is new evidence of intercepted cables from 1975 which were presented to previous investigations but apparently ignored. for example, see: "Study radio intercepts, Balibo Five probe told" and "Army chiefs ordered Aussie deaths". The Inquest will take place between February 5 and March 2, 2007,at the Coroner’s Court, 44 Parramatta Road Glebe at any time between 10am and 4pm weekdays.Drop in for half an hour or for as long as you want. (Lunch is 1-2)The fate of Brian Peters and his companions Gary Cunningham, Greg Shackleton, Malcolm Rennie and Tony Stewart (below) will once again be in the spotlight.

Questions about the deaths of these five Sydney-based journalists will not go away until the whole truth is told.

When good news is no news

It’s remarkable how bad news rules.  The awful events in Timor-Leste this year made the front pages of newspapers, with looting and burning being seen nightly on TV, ensuring that the Australian public knew what was going on in the world’s newest nation, the one on our doorstep.

However, when more than a thousand young people gathered on the main road between Dili and the airport singing about peace on Tuesday November 14, bringing traffic to a standstill in their display of peaceful emotion, not a word was heard.  The internet address necessary to find a report is three and a half lines long, indicating how deep is the journalistic hole into which it was buried, despite a media release.

Then on Wednesday 15th November outside the Governor’s Palace, the Timorese Army (FDTL) and the Timorese Police (PNTL) greeted each other with flowers and received flowers from members of the public.    Eyewitnesses told us that the security provided by the Australians and the UN was very heavy, and when the Timorese forces marched to the venue also armed to the teeth, it appeared as though things were very tense, to the extent that those watching thought they had better remove themselves from the scene fast. 

It was then that the leaders of the two forces stepped forward and offered each other flowers, a gesture repeated throughout the Timorese ranks. Once again, there was almost no media coverage in Australia even after a media release had been issued.

Difficulties remain in Timor-Leste, but people in the outside world would have a better chance of assessing the situation if major events like these peace demonstrations received adequate coverage.

East Timorese soldiers receive flowers to mark a peace rally in Dili November 15, 2006.More than 1,000 people, including soldiers and police, rally through the streets calling fellow countrymen to end sectarian hostilities and work for peace. REUTERS/Stringer (EAST TIMOR)

Photo reference:

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/wl/052406easttimor/im:/061115/ids_photos_wl/r1716917298.jp

Misery and Ignorance

A good friend of Mary MacKillop East Timor, a Timorese person of commonsense, integrity and high standing, has said on more than one occasion that the present situation in East Timor is the result of “misery and ignorance”. These are powerful words indeed.  They express extremes in human experience which no human being should have to bear. Read on......

This photo was taken by Brother Adriano de Jesus at the Don Bosco Training School at Comoro, Dili,

which at the height of the troubles had 15,000 internally displaced people.

...In Dili the effects of the violence of the last few months can be readily seen.  The place where the police were shot is visible to all, as the road is blocked with stones and may not be used by traffic.  Flowers and candles mark the place where those young people fell, the stains on the bitumen unclear as to how much is candlegrease and how much is human blood and brains.

Arsonists have been at work; Government ministers and the President have been accused of lying and much worse; the population so fearful that many have once again fled to the mountains or remain in little cities of white UN tents, too afraid to return home overnight.  (Here in Australia arsonists have been at work too, Governments remain accused of many lies and the threat of terrorist attacks has increased fear among the population: all salutary reminders of a similar human condition.)

A good friend of Mary MacKillop East Timor, a Timorese person of commonsense, integrity and high standing, has said on more than one occasion that the present situation in East Timor is the result of “misery and ignorance”. These are powerful words indeed.  They express extremes in human experience which no human being should have to bear.

The causes of the instability in Dili are caught up in a maze of intrigue and accusation which are confused and difficult to balance.  The Australian media and many activists have made attempts to explain what has happened with claims and counter-claims.  For some, Mari Alkatiri the ex-Prime Minister is the devil incarnate while for others he is a victim of an Australian coup.  Some say Churchmen are destabilising the Government, others claim it is the President.  Within Timor itself people are bewildered by the constant rumours which fuel their fear, finding it hard to separate fact from fiction.

Much has been written in Australia about the situation over the last few months, and a few articles stand out as being particularly worthy of reflection.  James Dunn’s reflections are among these, but also Richard Tanter’s “Ten Questions about East Timor” and his careful contributions to the answers are valuable.  This article is well worth reading. http://nautilus.rmit.edu.au/forum-reports/0618a-tanter.html

The questions he poses are:
1.  What inhibited the Alkatiri administration from effectively addressing the army rebellion and
      the antagonisms between the army and the police? Why were the divisive recruiting policies
     of the army and the police allowed to take root?
2.   What have been the key political dynamics in East Timor post-independence?
3.   Is the framework of "ethnic tensions" and "easterners vs. westerners" the real key to  the
      current political dynamics, or is there some other organising factor behind the riots?
4.   What does Australia know about the dynamics of violence in East Timor this time?
5.   Are there external factors at work - Australian or Indonesian?
6.   Does Operation Astute have adequate - and appropriate - resources for the job?
7.   What is the likely and desirable future role of the United Nations?
8.   Where does the debate about "justice vs. reconciliation" now stand?
9.    Is oil the answer or the curse?
10. What kind of war?

Another worthy article is Richard Curtain’s Crisis in Timor-Leste: Looking beyond the surface reality for causes and solutions, a  paper presented at a seminar organised by the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Project at the Australian National University, 27 July 2006. http://rspas.anu.edu.au/melanesia/working.php This paper emphasizes the role that poverty has played in the crisis, and on the Government’s failure to address it, giving evidence of the insight of our friend’s comment on misery and ignorance.

In a recent visit to East Timor some interesting observations were made to me, including:

1. Some said that there are people who are taking advantage of the insecure situation by burning and looting houses to revenge past wrongs. 

2. Two people said that some of the houses being burnt had been squatted in, often by Lorosa’e people in 1999.  Now that they have been burnt, the original owners have claimed the land and the squatters are in the IDP camps. Another person believes that the Government has been involved in the burning of houses, because that is a way of moving squatters who had been living on Government land since Indonesian times and who had refused to move.

3. A number of those I spoke to had major difficulties with Fretilin, its unaddressed history and its current behaviour.  One said the Timorese people learned the words “massacre” and “torture” before Indonesia came.  This person also said that 60% of the Timorese people are too ignorant to know the difference between Fretilin, the political party, and Falintil, the armed resistance. They confuse them, believing the claims that it was Fretilin that saved Timor, forgetting the sacrifices of the ordinary people and of Falintil.
Another source said that many political leaders use power and money for their own interest, mentioning members of Fretilin as well as others. He said that the appearance of a “legitimate” and a “reform” Fretilin is a strategy of Fretilin as a whole,  because before the crisis these two groups were very united.  Mr Alkatiri’s group receives support mainly from the East, whilst the Reform is centred in the West.  When the people blame the Government for the crisis,  the presence of a Reform looks like a way out of the impassé, but any differences are apparent only, so support for either side ensures the dominance of Fretilin.

4. The influence of money in the crisis arose in conversations again and again.  Arsonists are apparently being paid, e.g. I was told that two or three weeks ago some were arrested by the International Forces for stoning and bombing areas.  They were found with identical amounts of money in new notes in their pockets. Another person said that some receive $30 for a job, while another said that people were paid $3 a day to loot and burn.  Another said that petrol is mixed with kerosene, is trailed around the house to be burnt and petrol put into tyres and then set alight.  The similar way of operating suggests a concerted effort.  No one was able to name who or which group was paying people.
There is counterfeit money around. In the Osan Mean Pharmacy there is a notice on the wall warning people and showing them discrepancies in the notes.

5. Much has been made of a supposed “east/west” divide within the Timorese people, with attacks on people from the east (Lorosa’e) by westerners in Dili and with accusations by those from the east that westerners (Loromonu) did not pull their weight in the independence struggle. People I spoke to said that this is the first time that any such major division has arisen.  In Indonesian times, any outbreaks of this hostility were very small.  Contrary to what has often been written, one well-placed person said there is a balance of men from both sides of the country in the Army.  The two top leaders are from the East for sure, but all the others are balanced, therefore he believes that the perception of  favouritism towards the East is not correct.

Identity
Reflection on Timorese identity is important at this time because it is a major element in Timorese present reality and as such is integrally linked with the forces at work both in the current crisis and as Timorese society evolves.  After so long in thrall to this or that power, the struggle to come to terms with identity in the context of freedom, with what it means to be Timorese here and now, is underway.  Perhaps the apparent east/west division is a symptom of this ferment.

Identity arises from the physical and environmental place of life,  formed from background, experiences and choices made.  Life is not lived in a vacuum; identity is affected by people, events and places requiring responses which may become habitual.  The identity of nations evolves, expressed in language and other cultural norms.  The choice of warring against others, or resisting their attacks, triumphing over or succumbing to others all affect a nation’s identity over time.  Geographical place and historical event mould the psyche of a people, so that the Incas were not the Romans, the Irish are not Zambians.

“Misery” and “ignorance” are certainly characteristics of the Timorese people at present in the same way that “affluence” is a generally correct way of talking about the Australian people’s experience.  Misery is the lot of those who are not assured of the means of survival.  For many Timorese, life is a constant battle for a meal and many cannot assume that there will be food for them for long periods during the year. So ingrained is hunger that it is accepted to an extent unimaginable here, with parents hearkening back to their own hungry childhoods when coping with that of their children.  Hunger has produced a people whose physique is small.  Generations of wasted and stunted children grow to produce thin and weak offspring.

A contributing cause of this poverty is ignorance, not knowing any alternatives to the ceaseless round of finding food and a better life, lacking the means to find ways out of present circumstances.  But ignorance within Timor has been compounded by other contributors to their identity: their history and their neighbours.

The history of the Timorese people is well documented.  Books abound which deal with the Portuguese 450 year colonisation, the invasion by Indonesia, the abandonment of Timor by the world, the independence movement, the ballot in 1999 and Timor’s status as the first newly independent republic of the 21st century.  The history books also treat of the role of Timor’s neighbours as instigators or fellow-travellers during this time: Timor’s neutrality under Portugal during WWll, its invasion by Australia and Japan, the Indonesian regime.  Factors arising from the geographical placement of Timor include its position in the Indonesian archipelago and its claim to the resources of the Timor Sea. 

The present ignorance prevailing in the Timorese population stems largely from the denial of opportunities for education and growth during Timor’s tortuous history in dealing with their neighbours.  The total focus of the people has been to survive, leaving no time, resources or energy for the intellectual or business enterprises enjoyed by more secure nations.

Some people claim that Timorese identity is best expressed as Portuguese,  but this is like saying that “Britishness” “the bush” or the concept of “battlers” are identifying traits of Australians.  Whilst these characteristics have made contributions in the past to the nature of present-day Australia, they do not describe the present reality. There is an unwillingness among some Australians, including leaders, to admit that Australia is multicultural, and so now it has become politically correct to shun the word and to starve cultural programs of funds as if this will somehow change the multicultural nature of Australia.  Such efforts resemble, in a reverse fashion, the attempt to identify Timor as Portuguese. 

Force-feeding reluctant youth with Portuguese language, and having a few Portuguese songs and dances at cultural events will not change the fact that Portugal has been absent for decades.  The exalted status given to the Portuguese language by naming it as the co-official language with Tetun in the Constitution and the attempt to conduct affairs of State and judicial systems in that language does not change the fact that only about 5% of the population speaks it fluently, and most of those are in authority and are responsible for re-introducing the language after an absence of twenty-four years. It was not a decision of the people.  Given the illiteracy predominant among the poor, Portuguese has little chance of becoming a lingua franca of the ordinary people and may simply become what it always was, the language of the upper class, the decision makers, and a therefore symbol of the disenfranchisement which poverty brings.   The Timorese people’s reality has evolved, and a description of their identity could include this: the Timorese are a recently independent Melanesian people struggling with poverty who have ambiguous neighbours, coveted resources and a traumatised past.

Institutions

Australia has inherited British institutions on which its society is based and organised and from which it derives its organisational stability. Neither Portugal nor Indonesia left any such institutions in East Timor, nor did they educate the people to undertake Government roles.  The collapse of Timorese institutions, the military (FDTL) and police force (PNTL) in April/May 2006 is an example of the threat to society where institutions are weak, and in this case, also armed.  The Timorese weakness derives not only from the instability within the agencies themselves, but is a result of the experience of the conduct of these services under the  most recent occupier of East Timor, Indonesia.

The Indonesian Army and Police were agents of oppression for decades, even when employing Timorese.  The re-employment of some of these same people in the FDTL and the PNTL has been unfortunate, with reports of some showing the same type of behaviour countenanced under Indonesia.  The experience of Indonesian military and police engaged in business and commerce remains a major deficit in Indonesia’s own struggle towards democracy, causing widespread abuse of power, practices which happened in East Timor and are now happening West Papua.  Such practices tend to become part of the institutional culture, e.g. a major Timorese military player in the current crisis is believed to have been involved in illegal sandalwood trading and so lost promotion, triggering his part in the events.

It is the task of the Timorese people to choose and to install the structural systems they need for a stable society, to gain the education needed to become participative citizens.  It is the responsibility of international players to assist East Timorese people to grow towards the democracy they have chosen.  It is essential that the history of East Timor be widely known so that those willing to assist can understand the past, the influences of the present and the effects of violent colonisation, otherwise well-meaning people can expect too much too soon.  When the length of time it has taken other nations to evolve into democracies is compared with East Timor’s time at the helm some perspective is gained.  A comparison between Australia’s growth and that of East Timor is not very enlightening, as Australia was given all of its institutions, making the road to democracy much easier.

One way other nations can assist, particularly neighbours like Australia, is to accede to Timorese requests for help.  They are the ones who know what is necessary.  The recent deployment of troops to reinstate calm among the population of the capital is one contribution, but more is needed than a stop-gap military measure.

1. CAVR Report – Justice and Reconciliation Relevant articles available at: www.etan.org
Much is made nowadays of “capacity building” and the concept risks becoming just another business cliché if we in the west are not careful.  The concept has sound and far-reaching application to East Timor, but like all things worthwhile, will take time to implement.
The East Timorese Government has already commissioned and received a human rights report which goes to the heart of many of the problems arising from the nation’s past.  This Report of the Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) must be sincerely addressed by all who want a decent future for East Timor.  It is essential for Timor’s future that the recommendations of this report are broadcast and acted on.  One of the issues at its heart is reconciliation.  East Timor’s neighbours would do well to give practical support to reconciliation processes, particularly those which already exist within Timorese society.  Some success in developing and using existing  processes is described in the CAVR report, but lack of finance and support has limited the possibilities.  Those who aspire to comment on recent Timorese deficiencies in Government and organisation would do better to put their energies into working with Timorese people to build on the sound community systems which already exist but which require support in the light of the battering which the society has endured over decades.

2. Political Processes
a) The ignorance of many of the people has curtailed their ability to deal with the current situation.  If leaders had help in processing the political realities they would be in a better position to take on an educative role for the people. Individuals who already have some understanding of political processes could be given intensive training outside Timor for two or three months.  People who would respond well to this type of experience could be priests and other Church leaders, young people with a bent for politics, chefe de sucos and other local leaders, and members of political parties. They could learn alternative ways of handling people and conflict, and the requirements of transparency and accountability.
b) Various universities in Dili have requested the advice of outsiders to mount seminars and other ways of helping people understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens.  They want to know what it is like to live in a democracy.  There is a valuable opportunity here for Australians to offer help.

3. Education
The Australian Government and other bodies could increase the number of Timorese scholarships dramatically and assist educational institutions within East Timor on a more concerted and generous basis.  The Timorese people will not be able to educate their children unless they have teachers whose skills are increasing. 

4. The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church in East Timor assumed a pivotal role in its recent history and still retains great power.  It therefore has a responsibility to educate the people and to nurture citizenship while concentrating on that part of the human endeavour proper to it, that is, the spiritual.  The Catholic Church in Australia has an important role to play in assisting the Timorese Church, not only because of proximity, but also to atone for past unwillingness to resist Australian political strictures against standing for the human rights of the Timorese.  The Catholic Church in Australia was too quiet and compliant in the face of monstrous treatment given to near neighbours.  The CAVR Report has recommendations for the Church too, providing an opportunity to make up for the past.

Conclusion
It is of the nature of societies to evolve over time.  The misery and ignorance of the Timorese people is the concern of many Australian individuals and groups who are working with practical generosity to assist them to surmount the effects of the past.  Patience, generosity, good humour and a willingness to expect mistakes will assist everyone to play their part in the arduous work of nation-building and the eradication of poverty.  Australians particularly will benefit from witnessing the gruelling task of bringing those societal structures into being which we take for granted.

Susan Connelly RSJ September 2006

He showed great interest in Tess’s work and experience as an applied linguist particularly with indigenous Australians on Bathurst Island and in Port Keats. He was very interested in this and also in the principle that it is desirable to learn to read and write in one’s first language. He too stressed the importance of collaboration between people involved with language, and said that he would initiate meetings between relevant persons.

We also spoke about the growing support in Australia for a just solution to the Timor Oil question.

We discussed our past history and future plans, giving her a copy of our last report and plan of action, 2003 – 2006. We pointed out our wider work in health, community service and justice. We discussed education in general and our literacy program in particular.

Tess outlined the basis of our program, that children learn to read best in their own first language, or at least in a known language. Kirsty well understood and supported this approach. We presented her with copies of all our books, and she said she has some copies in her home and encourages the “nannies” to read them to her children. The importance of cooperation and respect among those working with the Timorese people was emphasised.

We referred to Tess’ work with the Ministry of Education, and our meetings with Mr Armindo Maia, who has a copy of all the Mary MacKillop literacy books. We emphasised that our work is with the Catholic Church under Father Leão, Director of Catholic Education. We told him of our recent meeting with Bishop Ricardo and his confirmation of our work. Mr Alkatiri seemed impressed that we work in seventy schools in the Dili Diocese.

We also discussed the recent Tetun Orthography Decree which he said was an interim measure to be now followed up by meetings inviting all the significant contributors to discuss differences in standards. He stated quite categorically that he is well aware of the contribution being made by Mary MacKillop East Timor.

He commented that some Tetun in use is nearly unintelligible, and that the new regulation is aimed mainly at addressing some of these problems. We told him of our meetings with Timorese academics and others, and of their willingness to discuss differences in orthography. Mr Alkatiri gave his opinion that he is not in agreement with any inflexible attitudes in the matter of languages and that collaboration is what is required at this stage.

Bishop Ricardo has a broad plan for his Diocese. He has a vision to revitalise the commissions – Catechetics, Education, Pastoral, Liturgy - and asked us to work with these bodies. He said several times, “You are helping us,” which we took as a statement of endorsement, and also that we are in a support role for the Timorese people. He was certainly very accepting and encouraging.

Among other matters, we discussed language and education questions. Bishop Ricardo said to keep working with Father Leão da Costa and that the Church would negotiate in any matters of concern.

Alberto Ricardo da Silva was ordained as Bishop of the Diocese of Dili in the presence of many thousands of people. The venue for the ordination was the reserve near Lecedire and the procession was led by traditional dancers.

Bishop Hilton Deakin from Melbourne was celebrating , as well as eight other bishops from Indonesia, Japan, Portugal, Papua New Guinea, Macau and Malaysia. It was a very solemn ceremony with Bishop Basilio do Nascimento serving as the ordaining prelate. A choir of 1000 voices led the wonderful singing.

On the following Sunday he celebrated Mass in Dare, where he was born.

Susan Connelly recently visited East Timor and met João and José, two students at the National University of Timor Leste (UNTL) who are friends of the Mary MacKillop Institute.

João lives in a small village about an hour’s walk from Dare, which in turn is 12 kilometres outside of Dili. Vehicles can only go part of the way, so the remainder of the journey is a walking track winding nearly vertically up to the village.

All the people in this place are extremely poor, surviving on what they can produce and selling some vegetables at the Dili market. This year the corn has failed because the rains were late.

The families in the village are most hospitable and share the little they have. They offer black tea, ai farina (cassava), batar (corn), hudi (bananas, which were cooked), and pipina (cucumber), all of which except the cucumber are fairly tasteless without salt or chilli. The children are painfully thin and very stunted. Any assistance we give to this village is shared by all the families.

João had been in the habit of making the steep walk to and from Dare every day and then walking from Dare to Dili for University because he can’t afford the bus fare. As he was spending hours walking, he now lives with a cousin and three other friends in Dili while attending the National University. They live in a one room house and the three girls sleep on the floor in the room and the two boys sleep on a mat on the doorstep.

It is very difficult for students like João whose parents cannot support them. Most young people in his situation eat twice a day, and many only once.

José studies at the Engineering Department of the National University in Hera, about 20 minutes by car from Dili. He shares a tin shed with with three other boys. They eat twice a day but always only rice and sometimes a little vegetable. They never eat meat or fish or chicken. The boys share two beds and whomever is home first from Uni cooks for the others.

How much does it cost these students to live?