Broadcasting a radio report in the Tetun language from Candidus Elu of Radio Atoni Oecusse, TimorToday reported that;

Polisia fronteira detein TNI nain 9 tama illegal iha Oe-Cusse [Tet.]

Border police detains 9 TNI [Indonesian Army] for illegal entry into Oe-Cusse.

The full story has an MP3 file which can be downloaded via the TimorOhin website here.

It has also been picked up by blogger TimorNewsNetwork as well.  On 5 October, the weekly Tempo Semanal blogged an internet feature out of it.

TimorOhin provides a service for previously unheard journalists from the far reaches of Timor-Leste to report to the nation at large, Timorese, abroad, and the international community.

In the story Radio Atoni Oecusse reporter Elu explains that the community of border village Naktuka in Subdistrict Nitibe, working with the Timorese Border Police detained 9 members of the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) for illegal entry into Timor-Leste on 3 October 2009.

Google Maps shows a missing border

Radio Atoni Oecusse quotes Simao de Carvalho, Chefe Suco (village head) of Ben-Ufe (within which Naktuka is located), as saying that the TNI entered Timor-Leste at 0900 with military vehicles and that they were armed. However, by 1400 Timorese National Police Headquarters in Dili instructed local authorities to release the TNI and allow them to return to Indonesia.  Radio Atoni Oecusse quotes local youth as being upset that Timorese are jailed for illegal border crossings but not the Indonesian Army.  Local police have explained to residents that the border area remains disputed and that decision to release the TNI came from the highest levels in Dili.

This is an old border dispute.  Both the Dili Insider and East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin blogs carried news about a brewing problem in June 2009. At stake is a rice paddy complex in contested land, in addition to a betel nut forest which has significant traditional “adat” importance to people across the Oecusse Enclave.

The dispute predates June and is part of a wider set of border issues in the Enclave.  Most notably, after a show of force by the TNI, including a fighter jet and a gunboat in January 2004, Timor-Leste ceded ownership of the island Pulau Batek, or Fatu Sinai as it is known in Oecusse, to Indonesia in 2005.  Public opinion in the Enclave was resigned frustration mixed with a refusal to cede Naktuka if asked.

Significantly, this is not the first time that TNI have been detained in this area.  During the Fatu Sinai / Batek spat, Timorese police detained TNI in the same area.

In June Indonesian blogger berita hankam posted a story in which TNI border commander Lt.Col. Yunianto is quoted as saying,

TNI hanya bertugas menjaga keamanan dan pertahanan negara. Sehingga kami tidak bisa masuk ke wilayah yang diduduki untuk mengusir warga Timor Leste tersebut. Kami sudah menyampaikan protes keras kepada polisi penjaga perbatasan Timor Leste,” lanjutnya. [Bahasa]

TNI's only duty is the security and defence of the country.  So we do not go into the area which is the responsibility of someone else to order the Timorese community out.  We already sent a strong protest to the Timorese border police.

Close Up of Naktuka Area - from Dili Insider

Some important people on the Indonesian side of the border have spoken publicly and aggressively over the matter of who owns Naktuka.  The Dili Insider reveals that Robby Manoh, quoted by the Jakarta Globe saying “if this injustice continues, we have no choice but to force”, is actually the King of Amfoan community - across the border from Naktuka.

Indonesian blogger Radio Sahabat reported that Manoh had again raised the issue of Naktuka with the Governor of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) province less than a month ago.

Interestingly, with the case of Maternus Bere, former pro-Indonesia militia commander penned up in the Indonesian Embassy, in addition to recent tri-lateral security and development meeting between Indonesian, Australia and Timor-Leste - Indonesia is putting pressure on Dili via one of its soft spots.  The soft spot being Dili's 60,000 citizens in the enclave in Indonesian West Timor - Oecusse.

On 23 September 2009 a prominent former pro-autonomy leader from the Timorese southern coastal district of Cova Lima made a stunning revelation in Dili District court during the trial of those accused of shooting President Jose Ramos-Horta, and attacking Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on 8 February 2008.  Rui Teixeira Lopes admitted to providing now deceased, rebel leader Major Reinado, and the man that lead the attack on Horta, with uniforms procured in Indonesia.

As the increasingly active Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor Leste (CJITL), [Centre for Investigative Journalism Timor-Leste] reported in a Dili Flash news segment on 25 September 2009 states:

“Rui Texeira Lopes ne’ebe kolega diak grupu Alfredo nian mak sosa husi Indonezia.” [Tet.]

The report quotes Lopes as saying,

“ Farda Militar nebe Alfredo ho nia grupo hatais ne’e hau mak sosa husi Marina Amerika iha Indonezia” dehan Rui Lopes ba Tribunal.”

Lopes further stated:

“Maibe osan ne'e laos hau nian tanba montante osan ne’e Salsinha intrega mai hau hafoin hau ba sosa farda mai fahe ba sira iha subar fatin. Hau deklara buat ne’ebe los ba tribunal mais kuandu ida ne'e mak hau sala karik ohin kedas hau prontu ba tur hamutuk ho maluk arguidu sira ne’e” Rui Lopes hatutan.

Who is Rui Lopes?

In addition to being a former colleague of many wanted war criminals - he is the former Bupati (Indonesian term of District Head) of Cova Lima District, an honourary member of the Indonesian special forces unit Kopassus, and a successful businessman with interests in cross border trade, trucking and is known for breeding racing horses.  In 1999 he supported the pro-autonomy option until the last moment, and then turned on his Indonesian general masters and told the world about TNI plans and actions to “torch” Timor in the wake of a vote for independence. In June 2006 he lead a anti-FRETILIN protest convoy to Dili as part of the effort to oust then Prime Minister Alkatiri.  He was caught on film claiming he was “prontu atu mate - ready to die”.  As blogged by FRETILIN leaning blogger Tatoli, and posted on You Tube.

Rui Lopes Leads Anti-FRETILIN protest convoy near Dili June 2006

Meanwhile the international press, Timorese websites, blogs and newslists are flooded with stories, gossip and commentary on the Bere Case. The domestic print media has literally used up a valuable forest on the issue.

Who is Bere?

Maternus Bere, was a  subcommander of the infamous pro-Indonesia Laksaur militia, organised, funded and directed by the Indonesian military, and based in Cova Lima district on the south west border with Indonesia.  Laksaur was an extension of the pro-autonomy apparatus funded by the Indonesian military and lead by Rui Lopes and others in Cova Lima.  Laksaur, and Bere, were responsible among other crimes, for the Suai Church Massacre on 6 September 1999, in which over 200 people were killed for their support of the Independence option in the 30 August 1999 UN run Popular Consultation.  Bere was subsquently indicted by the United Nations Special Panel on Serious Crimes, along with numerous other members of Laksaur for the Suai Church Massacre along with other human rights violations.

In summary Bere, a minor government offical in Indonesia and a wanted man for the last decade, crossed the border from Indonesia into Cova Lima district in August 2009. Critically, Tempo Semanal has obtained a copy of Bere's passport, showing it was issued in July 2009 by the Indonesian government, and that he was provided a visa by Timorese police on 5 August, three days before his arrest in Suai.  Bere was arrested by local people on 8 August, handed over the police, and subsequently released on 30 August 2009 by President Ramos-Horta, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and Minister of Justice.  Bere is currently believed to be in the Indonesian Embassy in Dili

Maternus Bere - subcommander Laksaur Militia, 1999 - Tempo Semanal

Civil society reaction has been overwhelmingly negative.  On 25 September the leading weekly newspaper Tempo Semanal, blogged a video taken from the National Commission for Victims of Human Rights Congress meeting in early September, capturing the feelings of civil society - being frustration and anger.

The leading Opposition party, FRETILIN has introduced a motion to censure the Government, and is suggesting it will quit Parliament if the vote goes in support of the Government.

FRETILIN argues that the release is grossly unconstitutional, and is the last straw after a series of allegedly illegal actions by the Government and its Ministers over the last 2 years.  These actions include but are not limited to corrupt activities by the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, the husband of the Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, to but a few.  Tempo Semanal has published dozens of corruption stories in the last year.

Additionally, Tempo Semanal obtained a copy of dispatch by Claudio Ximenes suggesting that the release of Bere was unconstituional and thus illegal, even going so far as to indicate that the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, if found in breach of the law face jail terms of 2-6 years.  Prime Minister Gusmao responded by stating. ““I know where Becora prison is so as soon as a court sentence I will go there my self.”

Indeed the grand old man of Timorese politics, the country's first President, and the Proklamador (Proclaimer) of independence on 28 November 1975, Fransisco Xavier Amaral has declared that President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao “La Iha Klamar - Have no Soul”.

The politico-legal witch's brew emanating from Cova Lima is threatening to engulf the country in a constitutional crisis, once again.  The events of 1975, 1999, and 2006 reverberate in 2009.  And to think, the Government wants investors to join it in pumping hundreds of million of dollars into major oil and gas infrastructure projects in Cova Lima and other south coast areas.

About CJITL

Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor Leste (Centre for Investigative Journalism Timor-Leste) - CJITL

CJITL has been online for a year or so, but is proving to be a powerful new media outlet in Timor-Leste.

CJITL Screenshot

Written almost entirely in Tetun, an obscure language to those outside of Timor-Leste, and even to most foreigners inside Timor-Leste, CJITL is a daily online publication.  It compliments the groundbreaking work that weekly Tempo Semanal is doing.  Indeed, the CJITL see Tempo Semanal as something of an inspiration.

A little known fact about CJITL is that its webmaster is a Timorese working in the IT section of a major UN peackeeping mission in Africa - he learned his trade working for the UN in Dili.  Probably one of the UN's more successful acts of capacity building, even if by accident.

This devastating episode has become known as the Black September of East Timor. According to this documentary, the violence was such that the Laksaur (a pro-Indonesia militia) didn't even shoot people, choosing to butcher the victims with machetes instead in order to save expensive bullets.

The Church of Suai. Photo by J. Orosco shared on Flickr by Patfranca

The campaign of terror had been spread around the country several months before the popular consultation by pro-Indonesian militias called Besih Merah Putih (White and Red Iron, the colours of the Indonesian flag). Although they intended to keep people away from voting, 90% of the eligible citizens went out and the result showed that a vast majority of the population wanted freedom. Mari Alkatiri, the opposition leader, recently alleged the manipulation of results, to which former Ambassador of Portugal in Jakarta, Ana Gomes (@anargomes) replied on Twitter:

12:54 AM Sep 1st: Alkatiri disse LUSA resultados referendo seriam 90/cento, mas ONUalterara-os para salvar face a Indonesia. Mas 80/cento salvam face?

Back in 1999, the Timorese knew that people would have to die in order to bring Timor Leste its independence. However, no one ever expected such violent crimes against humanity as those that took place in Suai. Despite the violence, trauma and destruction, in the commemorations of the 10th anniversary of the referendum, President Ramos Horta has asked for forgiveness, in what Amnesty International calls a “culture of impunity” as it urges the “International Tribunal to examine the human rights violations in East Timor“.

East Timor, Suai 2000. Photo by Rusty Stewart on Flickr.

Meanwhile, former Laksaur militia commander Martenus Bere, who allegedly led the attack on the church in the town of Suai in September 1999, has been released from prison. The Dili Insider translates the Indonesian news to English:

As an anniversary ceremony was taking place, authorities in Dili released an Indonesian citizen accused of leading one of the worst massacres in East Timor in 1999. Martenus Bere was brought from cells at Dili's main jail and handed over to Indonesian officials. Bere, a commander of a brutal pro-Indonesian militia group responsible for a reign of terror, led an attack on a church in the town of Suai during which three priests and dozens of people were killed. Prison officials said Bere was released on the order of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. He had been indicted for crimes against humanity by the UN's Serious Crimes Unit in 2003. Indonesian authorities had pressured East Timor to release Bere after he was arrested two weeks ago after crossing the East Timor border from Indonesian West Timor.

A growing wave of netcitizens against the release of Martenus Bere immediately started to spread the word on the case, many discussions have taken place and Facebook groups been created (such as Don't let Martenus Bere Escape Justice and Justice NOW for East Timor).

On the same day of the celebrations, a peaceful demonstration in Dili finished up with one more attack on justice and democracy. Ana Gomes broke the news on Twitter, and then reported on the blog Causa Nossa (Our Cause, pt):

12:39 AM Sep 1st Pedro conta 3 estudantes foram presos véspera em manif sobre Justiça. Arrancamos p/ Policia Dili

12:41 AM Sep 1st: Esquadra Policia Dili, dia 31/8 - confirmam-nos presos. Razões suharto/salazarentas: manif ilegal.

12:45 AM Sep 1st: Telefonema a Vice PM, velho amigo Lugo: “Sabes dos presos?”. Nao sabia. 10 minutos depois: “Vao já ser soltos”. Excesso zelo policial.

12:47 AM Sep 1st: Conclusao: Policia timorense precisa muito aprender democracia.

Disillusioned with politics and governance in East Timor, Loro Foho reflects on the future implications that such an act against democracy may have, especially for the younger population. In a post [pt] on the Timor Lorosae Nação blog:

Liberdade para os criminosos, repressão para o Povo, é o lema que nos parece estar a ser seguido pelos governantes.

A libertação de Martenes Bere, que liderou crimes contra timorenses, a punição de estudantes que pacifica e justamente (felizmente já libertados) pediam o fim da impunidade reinante em Timor-Leste, a política insana da AMP persistindo em duvidar da nossa clareza de análise, levam-nos a manter o sentimento de que urgente se torna reconquistar os valores que fizeram de nós Gente Respeitável. (…)

A realidade Mundial que muitos ainda não perceberam, flui na direcção da Justiça, da Verdade, do Desenvolvimento e Integridade dos Povos. Sabemos que a nossa luta flui na direcção certa, e é comum à luta de qualquer povo que se sinta injustiçado e descriminado. Fomos afastados e perseguidos, mas isso já é para nós a força da nossa da razão.

É previsível que os grandes senhores das cadeiras do poder dominante se irão gloriar futuramente de nos terem transformado num povo desprezível, cujos filhos irão cultuar o roubo, a mentira, a repressão… não nos bastando a cultura deixada no tempo das milícias desumanas e cruéis, eis os exemplos de uma política que facilita a impunidade a quem matou e destruiu massivamente, e que nos rouba a dignidade da justiça.

This sequence of events has put the first democracy of the millennium in jeopardy and once again shown that a path still needs to be made for the true self-determination of the Timorese people, including a fair mourning needed for Justice before Reconcilliation. Ivete de Oliveira shares the tragic story of her father, Manuel Magalhaes, who was the leader of the CNRT in Bobonaro District during the Indonesian occupation. He was killed on Sept. 9, 1999, at a lagoon near Maliana:

(…) He fought with all his heart and he did not get to experience how independence is like. is justice too big to ask?

Till today I still wonder how and where exactly my father was killed. We have never found the body because it was hacked to pieces and thrown into the sea.

Few years ago the serious crime unit collected the evidence from our family, which was the remaining of my father’s clothes on the day he was killed. Since then we have not heard any progress of the investigation.

This is just a story from one person and I could not speak for everyone but I strongly believe victims will say justice needs to be done in order for us to move on. We shouldn't just forget the past because past is what has brought us to where we are today.

An online petition implores “the United Nations institutions to take all necessary action to establish an international criminal tribunal to bring those responsible for the grave violations of international law in East Timor to justice without further delay”. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has already reacted in an open letter to the President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor.

A mosaic of rocks written and painted by residents in Port Phillip to send condolences to the people of Suai. From suaimediaspace.ning.com

A previous post on Global Voices with an interview with Jen Hughes from Suai Media Space highlights a video-documentary with a dramatization of the genocide in the Church of Suai. This post is the last of a series to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum in East Timor, which led to the territory's internationally recognized independence. In the first post we highlighted the support of the international community for the freedom of East Timor. In the second, we interviewed Abe Barreto Soares who is one of the organizers of the celebration events for solidarity taking place in East Timor in August and September 2009. The third post amplifies Timorese bloggers' celebrations while questioning and comparing the current and the past status of the Nation. In the fourth post we amplified the debate on the draft Land Law, and among other things, its implications for community lands.

East Timor, a territory only 3/4 the size of El Salvador, has a relatively disperse rural population and Dili, the capital, is the only major urban area. There are very few large landholdings in Timor, with the exception of the colonial-era coffee plantations in the central mountain districts. (It is worth remembering here that coffee is estimated to make up an estimated 80% of the productive non-oil economy.)

Ermera, coffee growing region. Photo by Sugu

The policy of the UN, and the first governments of independent Timor, was to attempt to build up other crucial institutions before touching the issue of land rights, which all were aware was quite controversial.

Pedro Xavier, the Timorese official who presided over Land Registration the UN Transitional Administration's Land and Property Unit provided background in a paper presented to the East Timor Conference on Sustainable Development in 2001

Much proof of land ownership (sertifikat [Indonesian]/alvara [Portuguese]) was destroyed along with property and possessions in 1975 and 1999. At present, proof of cultivating the land and statements from the community are available though they may be contested.

Regulation No. 1/1999 gave UNTAET the mandate to administer all movable and immovable assets in East Timor. […] On the 25th of October 2000, the UNTAET Cabinet decided […] Land rights would only be decided conclusively after independence.

While land conflicts continued unabated, the first independent government of East Timor did not pass any land law. Bits and pieces were added by way of decree laws, but nothing addressing the structural issues. Donor nations, especially the US, pushed for a law, arguing that it would be hard to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) without a framework for land ownership. USAID began sponsoring a Land Law Project in 2003. Ben Moxham wrote in Zmag in 2005

[The US] is funding a number of studies on FDI promotion, agribusiness development, a finance sector framework, and developing a land law regime friendly to the private sector. My unnamed diplomatic source sees this last policy as Timor's only option to attract investors. “The government has tons of land, about two thirds of the country,” he proclaims, “some of which of course is tied up in Adat [traditional title]. This is one incentive they can offer. They can give out land for FDI.”

But there was an important, unresolved social aspect to urban land rights, as International Crisis Group wrote in its 2008 report “Timor Leste's Displacement Crisis”

Timor badly needs new land laws, a land register, a system for issuing titles, and mediation and dispute-resolution mechanisms. […] These problems underlie many displacements – people took advantage of the 2006 chaos to chase neighbours out of disputed properties – and risk undermining long-term stability and economic growth. Draft land laws exist, but successive governments have considered them too controversial. They need to be passed but, important as it is, land law reform will take time and alternative ways are needed to house IDPs whose houses are the subject of ownership disputes.

USAID continued to fund work on land, and in 2007 the “Ita Nia Rai” Program was launched, which would include the drafting of a Land Law and two pilot land registry campaigns in Liquiça and Manatuto districts. Before the draft Law was finished, work began on the land registry campaign. Warren Wright wrote recently in the East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin, an online publication,

The question that arises is why should the government proceed in such an exercise before there is legal clarity about the status of the 40000 odd land rights (over most of the most valuable land in East Timor) created during the Indonesian occupation, or about the abolition of the Portuguese land rights created during the colonial period, or, even, indeed, about the status of land rights that exist over most of the national territory by virtue of local customary law.

In June, the Government of East Timor presented a Land Law, stating it would allow two months of public consultation on the draft. Under Timor's NGO Forum, a fairly dormant “Rede ba Rai” (Land Network) was reactivated in 2008 in anticipation of the draft Land Law. The Land Network sent a letter to Minister of Justice Lucia Lobato in June calling for at least five months of consultations, with simple language documents explaining the Law.

Rice Paddies in Maliana District. Photo by SReyes.

Civil society's challenge has been to create intelligible versions of a highly technical legal language which discusses two legal regimes: Indonesian hak milik, and Portuguese propriedade perfeita, as well dealing with land with no title.

During the months of July and August, the Land Network has followed the consultation process in the districts, making strong criticisms of their length and content. It called a recent consultation in Manufahi “a charade”:

The date of the Manufahi consultation moved several times and fell on the same day as a large NGO organized meeting. Many people therefore couldn't participate in the Land Law meeting.[…]

“Although we are happy to see more discussion on land issues, the Same meeting raised few constructive comments on how to improve the law,” said Inês Martins of the Land Network.

“This is because people have only 61 minutes to speak, they haven't seen and don't understand the law, and the meeting is organized at the last minute. Also, because the Minister alone replies to all questions or comments on the law she often provides information that is misleading or wrong.”

The Ministry of Justice responded last month to concerns in Aileu district about the Law by saying that once the “consultation” period is over, they are planning a public education campaign about the law down to the local level.

Questions remain about key aspects of the law: who will sit on the bodies vested with power to decide land conflicts, the future of now-squatted coffee plantations, and the question of “community lands”. Pedro from Haburas Foundation recently asked in a Land Network press release

“There are important questions to be discussed - Who will get compensation, and how much? Who will be in a position to make key political decisions about land allocation? Why has the state been given strong rights over community lands? Who receives the money from projects run on community land? Who will help vulnerable people to claim their land rights?”

The question of land ownership in East Timor complicated by deeply-held cosmological beliefs about land, life and death. For most Timorese, the landscape is also populated by powerful spirits who are called rai na'in, literally meaning owners of the land.

Village in the Mountain of Maliana - Timor-Leste. Photo by SReyes.

Writes blogger “Mau Lear” (Manuel Carlos D'Oliveira) in TIMOR, lendas, prosas e narrativas [Pt]

As montanhas e as planícies de Timor estão cheias de seres invisíveis para a maioria dos mortais, e esses entes influenciam definitivamente a vida dos Timorenses […] Esses seres invisíveis que tem o nome de Rai Na’in, são os espíritos donos da terra que tanto se encontram nas árvores seculares que povoam a ilha, como em animais ou pedras e são respeitados e muitas vezes adorados pelo povo simples e ainda animista.

Former Peace Corps volunteer Michael Jones shares an anecdote from 2003 in Manatuto district, where he explains that Rai Na'in dictated that a fence simply could not be constructed near his house

The family said Tiu [Uncle] was the expert on the Rai Nains (spirit owners of the land), and that he would know what was allowed and what wasn't. Sra. Lina's husband, Domingo, had explained to me once that a man had cut his heel while working on the fence behind the house once and later become quite ill, near-to death. The counsel of elders said it was a holy spot [lulik], that the large stones jutting out along the ridge dividing the living area from the lower rice paddy were actually a spirit path, along which the spirits walked when descending from the hills to the beach and back. The fence must be taken down, after which, the ill man would recover. It seemed to have unfolded this way.

Tiu had a much more complete story. He said that at one time, an elder had become ill and the cause was that the fence angered the Rai Nain. So they took the fence down and the man recovered. They built the fence back up, and other people became ill. So they took the fence down and the people recovered. They did this three times, until finally resolving that no one should build a fence or carryout any activity on this land, ever. I asked about the land adjoining the house, between the house and the kitchen area, away from these impressive stones, figuring this would not be on the spirit path. “Lulik hotu!” exclaimed Tiu. He would have none of it and made as if to leave at the very thought of trying to delineate the lulik area.

Writer Pedro Rosa Mendes recently wrote in a beautiful online essay “Shadows, Dreams, Shapes: The Lulik Reality” [En]

Reality, including politics and its codes, does not exist outside of the lulik. The Timorese inhabit a magical realism that is as palpable and evident as it is invisible or fantastic for us.

The Land Law refers to “community land” and states that “local communities participate” in resource management and conflict resolution, which seems an allusion to Timorese customary law. Many would like the Land Law to more formally contemplate what is known as Tara Bandu.

Haburas Foundation's Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho explained to Grist Magazine after winning the Goldman Prize in 2004

Tara Bandu is an East Timor tradition, a customary law that we recognize as traditional ecological wisdom. It involves a kind of agreement within a community to protect a special area for a period of time. During the occupation this practice was prohibited, so we are trying to revive it, to remind people about it.

But the language of the Law does not provide strong guarantees over community lands, stating merely that the state will “protect” these areas. And given the global scenario of increased pressure on productive land, many in Timor have raised concerns about foreign ownership of land. One precedent, an MOU between the Ministry of Agriculture and an Indonesian firm which surfaced in 2008 promising 100,000ha, raised alarm and continues to linger in people's minds.

Lafahek Rai Maran created a joke advertisement after the MOU, that says bidding for all of East Timor will start at US $200 million [Tet], but with some clever negotiation, the price could be halved.

The issue of the Land Law will mostly likely be one of the most hotly debated and potentially most protested in the last half of 2009 in East Timor.

This post is the fourth of a series to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum in East Timor, which led to the territory's internationally recognized independence. In the first post we highlighted the support of the international community for the freedom of East Timor. In the second, we interviewed Abe Barreto Soares who is one of the organizers of the celebration events for solidarity taking place in East Timor in August and September 2009. The third post amplifies Timorese bloggers' celebrations while questioning the current versus the past state of the Nation. Next, we will write on the crimes committed during “Black September” in 1999 and the controversy over the Timorese leadership's decision to not seek justice.

Ohin loron , loron ALEGRIA nian ba timor oan hotu. iha loron ida ne'e ita sei hanoin fila fali tinan sanulu liuba (30 de Agosto de 1999) nebe ita hotu decidi atu liberta ita nia nação husi ocupação indonésio. ALEGRIA nebe ita hetan iha tinan 10 liu ba ne ALEGRIA ida BOOT tebes ba ita timor oan hotu(mas iha 21,5%triste). Ita hotu expressa ita nia alegria ida ne liu husi haklalak, hakilar, hananu e tanis. Mesmo too agora ALEGRIA ida ne ita sei sente nafatin maibe, durante tinan 10 nia laran ne susar no terus sedauk sés husi ita (caso boot liu mak iha tinan 2006). Ema barak (balun husi rai leur) hare ba caso 2006 ho 2008 (11 de fevereiro) dehan katak “ESTADO FALHADO” maibe sira nia teoria ida ne sala boot.

photo by Rusty Stewart

Aquarius Vinte Três wrote that for him things started the moment Indonesian President B. J. Habibie suggested the popular referendum [Tet]

Lia fuan ” MATE ka MORIS DUNI BAPA SAI” mosu ho Espontánia iha tinan 1999 baihira Prezidente Indonésia B.J.Habibie hasai opsaun rua maka hanesan: Simu autonomia no Rejeita Autonomia (dua opsi:Menerima Otonomi dan menolak otonomi) iha loron 27 Janeiru 1999. Durante manifestasaun pro-independénsia ruma iha Dili laran, joven sira uza liafuan ida-ne’e ” MATE ka MORIS DUNI BAPA SAI”, hodi hamánas liutan ita-nia espíritu nasionalizmu to'o didi'ak ‘Konsulta Popular' iha fulan agostu ‘99.

photo by Rusty Stewart

Others used the opportunity to lament the lack of unity and vision of Timorese people, like Abel Pires da Silva, who wrote on the RENETIL blog [Tet]

Fulan Agostu iha tinan 10 liu ba, povu Timor maioria fiar metin katak Timor-Leste ukun rasik an sei diak liu fali Timor Leste ne’ebé hamutuk ho Indonezia. Iha tempu rezisténsia, ita iha inimigu KOMUN, ne’ebé halo ita hamutuk kumu liman kontra inimigu ne’e. Iha tempu ukun rasik an, ita lakon inimigu komun ne’ebé halo ita hamutuk nu’udar forsa nasaun. Hanesan konsekuensia husi situasaun ne’e, entidade barak iha nasaun Timor-Leste ida-idak hakarak buka atu hetan sira nia interese rasik. Grupu barak mak komesa reklama sira nia “kontribuisaun” no ezizi estadu atu “tau matan”. Moras ezizi estadu atu “tau matan” ne’e mos kontinua akontese

On a lighter note, the band Outravez, made up of Timorese students based in Indonesia, proudly announced the release of their new album, with a song dedicated to the referendum day [Tet], and shared they would play at today's concert in front of the government palace in Dili.

The best window into the concert and the mood in front of the Palace today was from the tweet of the CJITL - Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor Leste (Investigative Journalist Center of Timor Leste). The main attraction was clearly Indonesian pop star Krisdayanti. Quoting a selection of Twitter posts from Gil @CJITL:

9:11 AM Aug 30th: populasaun kuaze nain rihun sanulu halibur an ohin kalan iha palacio governu, iha konsertu bo'ot n'e

9:16 AM Aug 30th: Bonoite dili, ida ne'e mak liafuan primeiru husi krisdayanti nia ibun bainhira kanta muzika Rai dili rai cidade

9:54 AM Aug 30th: tuir mai distritu 13 sei hato'o nia mensajen ho dialeitu idak idak nian..kris deskanca oitoann

10:06 AM Aug 30th: Ramos Horta hateten”loron ohin ne'e importante tebes, ita tenki halo reflesaun ba sira ne'ebe mate hodi fo liberdade ba ita”

This post is the third of a series to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum in East Timor, which led to the territory's internationally recognized independence. In the first post we highlighted the support of the international community for the freedom of East Timor. In the second, we interviewed Abe Barreto Soares who is one of the organizers of the celebration events for solidarity taking place in East Timor in August and September 2009.

"The role of a writer is to collect the fossils of reality scattered around, then ornament them on the wall of our history"

In the previous post of this series, while celebrating the 10th anniversary of the referendum in East Timor, we presented the way in which the international community stood up in support of the freedom of the Timorese people. In this piece we interview Timorese writer Abe Barreto Soares in order to disseminate Timorese Nationalism seen through the Eyes of its Poets, the essay that he has recently published [tet, pt].

As a blogger since 2007, Abe (or his cyber-pseudonym, Jenuvem Eurito, as he was called by his friends in his youth) shares his words and thoughts in four languages often analysing literary work relevant for the self determination of his country. Moreover, Abe discusses thoroughly the construction of a national conscience after the fight for independence.

Taking advantage of the benefits of blogs to foster global connections and distance conversations in original ways, he describes his blogs as “sweet words, caring words, in a venue for people to talk to each other, sharing with each other on “what” and “how” life goes in the world”.

But Abe's words and actions have not always been this free, as he stated during the Indonesian occupation of Timorese territory.

I felt like my hands and mouth were tied. I couldn't say what I felt about East Timor.

Global Voices Online (GVO): Where were you 10 years ago? Can you tell us a bit about your life?

Abe Barreto Soares (ABS): During the time of the referendum, I was overseas. I happened to be in Portugal at the time. Along with other Timorese compatriots, I cast my vote in Lisbon.
I left Timor-Leste in 1985 to pursue my university studies, taking English as my major at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Then, I left for Canada to take part in a cultural exchange program in early September 1991. On November 12 1991 the  [Santa Cruz] massacre occurred when I was about to finish my program. Being concerned for my personal safety if I was to return to Indonesia, I finally decided to stay in Canada, and seek political asylum. I spent 7 years in Canada, campaigning for a free and independent Timor-Leste through diplomacy and cultural activities (using music as a tool to alert the outside world to what was really going on in the country). I had the chance to spend a year and a half in Portugal from Spring 1998 until the Fall of 1999. Then, I went to Macau for journalistic training with a Portuguese news agency, Lusa, for six months (October 1999 until March 2000). I returned to Timor-Leste in July 2000. Since then, I have been working in UN missions in Timor-Leste both as an information assistant and a translator/ interpreter.

Abe Barreto Soares' testimony in Stephen Marshall's documentary "Blackout East Timor" (8' | 1997) on the lack of mainstream media coverage on East Timor during the Indonesian occupation. Click on the picture to see the video.

GVO: How did you have access to Timorese literature during the Indonesian times?

ABS: During the Indonesian times, while doing my studies in Yogyakarta, I came across books on Timor-Leste such as “EasTimor: Nationalism and Colonialism” by Jill Jollife, a fellow journalist, from Australia. From this book I discovered the late Timorese  poet, Francisco Borja da Costa. One of the lines of his poetry appearing in the book: “smother my revolts/ with the point of your bayonet/ torture my body/in the chains of your empire/ subjugate my soul/ in the faith of your religion…/” really fired the sense of nationalism within me. And through the book “Funu: The Unfinished Saga of East Timor” by José Ramos-Horta (current President of the Republic of Timor-Leste) I discovered Fernando Sylvan.

Pedem-me um minuto de silencio pelos mortos mauberes.
Respondo que nem por um minuto me calarei.

Fernando Sylvan

GVO: You often quote Timorese poet Fernando Sylvan. In what ways do you take advantage of poetry in order not to shut up, as he recommends in the above poem?

ABS: A poet is a spokesperson of his or her era. He or she should break the silence when it comes to oppression. Living on this planet, we are in a constant battle between the dark and the light. A poet should be at the forefront, carrying the torch. He or she is the “warrior of the light”. (I borrow this concept from Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian writer).

As an artist I have to be ready any time to engage in the spiritual war. Words are my swords. Hopefully, my words will provoke people so that they can be in tune with themselves all the time in creating harmony in this wonderful planet.

Notes from a Musafir 48

GVO: Do your blogs in four different languages reflect the way people communicate in Timor?

ABS: Timorese like me have to be creative in taking advantage of the ‘blessing’ of colonialism and globalization. Aside from using my own mother tongue, Tetum and my father’s mother tongue, Galole which I am good at, I also use English and Indonesian in my literary carrier. I am proud of using them to communicate what I think and feel. I would love, someday soon, to create a Portuguese blog as well.

Abe (on the right) at Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (2007) - photo used with theunspunblog.com's permission.

GVO: Why have you created a Korespondensia Literaria (Literary Correspondence, tet) category on one of your blogs?

ABS: I created the “korrespondensia literaria” entry on my Tetum blog in an attempt to convey to the outside readers the correspondence I have had with my fellow literary friends through SMS. Practically speaking, transferring them onto a blog can be considered as a way to save those messages. As a man of letters I need to engage in a constant communication with friends the world over. I want to learn a lot from them. I want to commune the philosophy of Greenpeace, “think globally, and act locally”.

[SMS:] ITA-BOOT NIA BATINA/ha’u moras todan: ha’u klamar terus/fó lisensa mai ha’u-ata atu kaer Ita-Boot nia batina/fakar mós Ita-Boot nia mina oliveira domin nian mai ha’u-ata/ hodi nune’e ha’u bele di’ak filafali ho lalais// [21:51:11//11-2-2009]
Resposta sira:
1.R. D. = “Se mak bulak ida ne’e?” [maisumenus tuku 10 kalan]
2.Suzana TP = “Diak pois há’u haruka ba suli hanesan tasi” [22:08:53//11-2-2009]
3.Atoi R. = “Obrigado maibé ha’u la kompriende” [22:18:00//11-2-2009]
4. Pe. Olá = “Sajak ne’e tau nia titulu, Jesus. Bele atrai liu” [11:55:12//12-2-2009]
5.F.Nascimento = “We matan mos, we liman diak, halo suli mai, fakar mos mai, ami iha lerek susar no terus laran. Tan Ita Boot, ami Nain deit. Laran luak tebes no kmanek wain basuk.”[12:56:05//12-2-2009]

Sonhos dos Poetas Loucos

Lia-na’in sira-nia mehi hatutan no lolo liman ba malu
Lia-na’in sira-nia mehi bidu no tebe hadulas mundu rai klaran
ho haksolok

Lia-na’in sira-nia mehi fanun ha’u,
no ema lubun maka sei toba dukur
–
Fevereiru 2009

Blogs by Abe Barreto Soares:

Dadolin-Poetry from the Land of Lafaek-Crocodile: A Space for Poetic Mind and Poetic Feeling. In English, Tetum, Bahasa Indonesia and Galole.

This post is the second of a series to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum in East Timor, which led to the territory's internationally recognized independence. In the first post we highlighted the support of the international community for the freedom of East Timor. In this post, we interview Abe Barreto Soares who is one of the organizers of the celebration events for solidarity taking place in East Timor in August and September 2009.

On 30 August, 1999, hundreds of thousands of Timorese voters braved an Indonesian-directed terror campaign to cast ballots for independence in a U.N.-organized referendum. This event, which ended Indonesia’s 24-year illegal, brutal military occupation, led to the creation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as the first new nation of the millennium. The vote was the culmination of decades of struggle by Timorese people, supported by solidarity activists around the world.

The release of journalist Max Stahl's video recording of the outrageous Massacre de Santa Cruz in 1991 increased global awareness about the crimes occurring in East Timor under the Indonesian occupation.

In 1996 Jose Ramos-Horta and Bishop Ximenes Belo were awarded the Peace Nobel Prize and only three years later Indonesian President Habibie allowed the people of East Timor to choose between autonomy within Indonesia and independence. And the world united along with East Timor.

"Die-in" protest in the US. Credit: www.etan.org

Solidarity movements able to pressure their governments and protest Indonesian abuses sprung up in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Portugal, France, Holland, Ireland, Germany, the UK, Canada and the US during the 1990s. Even within Indonesia, East Timorese had friends working to stop abuses and promote self-determination.

In the summer of 1999, in the lead up to the Referendum, the International Federation for East Timor assembled the Observer Project, an international team of members from at least 22 countries to go to Timor and monitor the vote. The security arrangements for the months preceding the referendum were shaky, as the UN-brokered agreement for the Referendum left security to the Indonesian police.

UN poster that reads "We will not leave" credit to Australia Timor-Leste Friendship Network

IFET monitors bravely fanned out across the territory, a project report from August 22, 1999 explains

We have rented houses and deployed teams in every area of East Timor. Upon arriving in a town, an IFET-OP team first makes contact with the police and local authorities, and then with various community leaders and advocates on both sides of the campaign. They settle into a house which an IFET-OP advance team has arranged, and begin observing and inquiring about events and perceptions related to the campaign and other aspects of the consultation. Each team reports in nightly by phone and files a written weekly report. Although nobody on any of our teams has been injured, several have witnessed violent or intimidating incidents, and have reported such events to the appropriate authorities, UNAMET, and IFET-OP headquarters in Dili.

The IFET observers reported the violence that engulfed East Timor after the vote, which it turned out, was overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia. The IFET Observer Project reported on September 3

The observers, members of the International Federation for East Timor Observer Project (IFET-OP), traveled to the Becora neighborhood of Dili to investigate reports of militia burning houses in the area yesterday. When they arrived, they found a house newly ablaze, and with both firefighters and journalists at the scene, the IFET-OP team went to investigate. Ten minutes after the observers arrived, the Indonesian military-backed militia showed up at the house.

The Aitarak (Thorn) militia struck one U.S. IFET-OP member in the face. Another team member, a woman from Finland, was hit in the back by a militia holding a gun. Yet another Finnish team member was threatened at gunpoint. The militia members also punched the IFET-OP driver and smashed a window on his car.

With militia violence kicking off again almost immediately after the vote, solidarity groups around the world began to demand their governments pay attention to the worsening situation in East Timor. The following video, from Jose Budha, portrays how Portugal stood up and stopped in that period:

[Subtitles] The images of a country standing for 3 minutes in solidarity with a distant people ran the world, as did the aerial view of a 10 kilometers human chain. Thousands ended up heading towards Madrid, so that they could shout loudly their rebellion against the Indonesian Embassy. Indonesia eventually accepted the entry of an international force in East Timor. The UN took another week to send this force. We do not know how many people died. Out of the 18 accused in Indonesia of involvement in the events of 99, only 1 was convicted and the others were acquitted in different instances. There is a certainty that in the future, when necessary, there are millions of voices ready to scream, reaching as far as 14,000 kilometers away, to Timor Lorosa'e.

After the results were out in the 4th of September numerous atrocities, killings and devastation happened as TAPOL reported in 1999:

After the referendum results were announced on 4 September, the militias and their Kopassus bosses unleashed a scorched-earth policy of gigantic proportions. Para-military forces joined the fray, along with six TNI battalions, including two notorious local battalions, 744 and 745. Altogether about 15,000 men were involved. Without such a large contingent of men, it could never have taken hold so rapidly.

Although [Operation] Sapu Jagad-II sought to create the impression that this was a spontaneous outpouring of anger by pro-Indonesia forces, there is overwhelming evidence that the destruction was a well-prepared military operation. In many places, villagers were forced to destroy and burn their own neighbourhoods, even their own houses. The aim was to destroy as much as possible and punish the pillars of the pro-independence movement. The Catholic Church, which had given sanctuary to fleeing East Timorese throughout the occupation, was one of the main targets.

Photo from "Genocide Watch: East Timor 1975-1999", researched and written by Adam Jones. Shared under a license for non-profit use.

All IFET OP volunteers were forced to leave Dili by September 7, 1999 under extremely harrowing circumstances

Today, September 7, the last of our observers was forced to leave East Timor. Over the past two days, the Royal Australian Air Force evacuated 60 of our nonpartisan volunteers to Darwin from Dili and Baucau.

We left East Timor for safety, but with tremendous sadness. The East Timorese people have no Australia to run to, no place to hide from militia terror. Last night, Australia and Indonesian military officers prevented one of our East Timorese staff members from boarding the plane with us — and he faces an unspeakable horror shared by hundreds of thousands of his fellow East Timorese.

Most international observers and media fled East Timor before IFET-OP had to leave, and we were the last international NGO to leave. UNAMET has withdrawn from the entire country except Dili, where their communications and electricity has been cut off, and they are surrounded by militias who shoot into their compound virtually without interruption.

The mentioned “world pressure” became more and more real as citizens did not resign. Some photos of solidarity ties in Portugal may be seen in Tane Timor website. Maremargo posted images from Spain. Antonio Jose, from Uma Lulik blog, illustrated and emotionally described what was happening in Lisbon in a never before seen solidarity during the 7th and the 8th [pt] of September 1999:

As sirenes dos bombeiros ouviram-se ininterruptas nesses 3 minutos… parámos por Timor-Leste como nunca parámos por mais nada… TODOS (…)
Durante toda a tarde do cimo daquele prédio foram lançados constantemente papeis e papelinhos, rolos de papel higiénico, tudo o que vinha à mão era material para protesto. No final da tarde percebe-se que esse stock acabou pois eram as páginas amarelas que fluíam nessa altura… aquele ventinho sempre a ajudar e a depositar os protestos em plena embaixada dos EUA, nas árvores, no seu jardim e envolventes. No topo do prédio viam-se gente de gravata e camisa, a causa era a mesma…

"Civil non-obedience for Timor Loro Sa'e" in front of the US Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal, September 1999. Photo by Flickr user nopasaran, used with permission.

While the East Timor Action Network put people on the streets in September 1999, it was also able to count on the phone calls and letters of over ten thousand Americans

ETAN grew during 1999, enlarging our membership from 8,500 to 11,700. […] Using our experience and national activist network developed through eight years of dedication to a cause many called hopeless, ETAN mobilized public and official pressure. […] In September, ETAN’s web site was visited by more than 40,000 people a week. […] During September, our most active staff and volunteers were featured or quoted in countless mainstream media articles and programs, reaching tens of millions. ETAN activists authored op-eds in major U.S. newspaper, wrote letters to the editor, and appeared on local and national radio and TV shows.

On the other side of the world, the decisive moment for international intervention happened on the eve of the APEC summit in New Zealand, when Bill Clinton privately met with Pacific leaders. Only days prior he had announced the suspension of US military training with Indonesia. According to blogger Nigel Morley of “Writing for the Future“

To some readers this may seem fanciful but when Timorese Nobel Peace Prize winner José Ramos-Horta met United States (U.S.) President Bill Clinton at the APEC meeting in New Zealand in 1999, Clinton remarked that Ramos-Horta had more influence with Congress than he did (Zubrycki: 2002).

New Zealanders turned out in numbers to welcome Clinton, Ramos Horta and Australian Prime Minister Howard. Australians also “Take To The Streets Over East Timor”:

From Sidney, Australia, "Mother & Child" photo by Flickr user Potsy, used with permission

Banners saying “Stop The Slaughter” and “Wiranto - Murder.” Chants of “Free East Timor” and “Viva Timor Leste” (long live East Timor) came from the crowd after it heard from East Timorese resistance leader Mr Jose “Xanana” Gusmão during a live telephone hook-up from Jakarta.

“We need you, brothers and sisters of Australia, we need your voice,” Xanana Gusmao in Jakarta said by telephone, “I think it is important to send a message to the Indonesian Government that the Australian community and Australian workers will do everything they can to stop the killings. Viva East Timor,” he said. “Viva,” the crowd yelled back.

Students from Kingsgrove High School pledge their support for a free Timor in 1999. Photo by Flickr user sHzaam!, used with permission

During the torturous days of September 1999, world leaders moved slowly to intervene in East Timor, when it was clear that the Indonesian military and its proxies were completely destroying the territory, and setting off a humanitarian crisis of massive proportions. But the decisive protest and advocacy of groups of concerned citizens across the world shamed the US, Australia, and Indonesia into turning a new page for East Timor.

A decade later, it is time to celebrate that global union. Several events are scheduled in Dili, such as a photo exhibition in Fundação Oriente (which was itself the place where a massacre occurred in 1999) describing solidarity movements over the years.

This is the first in a series of posts to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum in East Timor, a vote which led to the territory's internationally recognized independence. If you would like to share memories from the acts of global solidarity for East Timor in 1999, please do so below.

Tempo Semanal has uploaded several documents related to the rice importation contracts. The Prime Minister said he is ready to face the anti-corruption commission. But he also stressed that his daughter is no longer a majority shareholder of the company when it was awarded with a government contract. The opposition Fretilin party believes this is a case of corruption and nepotism.

There are also other government contracts, including an arms deal, which the opposition is now questioning in the media. It was reported that many beneficiaries of government contracts are relatives of high-ranking public officials:

Zenilda Gusmao (Prime Minister’s daughter) is not the only businesswoman in East Timor with a close relative in government. Kathleen Goncalves, wife of East Timor's Minister of Economic Development, Joao Goncalves, is connected to at least three companies that have been awarded multi-million dollar government contracts approved by the Prime Minister.

The Dili Insider reminds the lucky relatives and friends of government officials to pay their taxes correctly:

The Timorese blogging scene has gone slightly BANANAS over the matter of who got what rice contracts. It has even become known as Ricegate - so named by the Timorese Government themselves.

With alot of money at stake, over 57 million USD it seems some people have made alot of money, often usually by knowing someone and not being bonafide rice dealer.

Ok get a contract through family and friends, fine. But please pay your tax.

It is odd that government spokespersons themselves would describe the current issue as ‘Ricegate.’ The Lost Boy reacts to the public statements of government and opposition parties:

This must surely be the first time the word “porkies” has been used in a government statement.

The problem with this back-and-firth is that it doesn’t really address the issues at hand. FRETILIN (opposition party) digs up whatever it can and the government goes on the defensive and starts harking on about how corrupt FRETILIN was back in the day, which does little to address current concerns. Any valid points the statements might make are undermined in the first couple of paragraphs. I have to wonder who is writing these statements.

Are the people of Timor-Leste supposed to accept that this government is corrupt because the last was? How reassuring is that for the man on the street? This media war is amusing to watch, but it solves nothing.

East Timor President Jose Ramo Horta is supporting the embattled Prime Minister

Just because someone became president, became prime minister, became a minister, does not mean his family all have to go into unemployment, all have to sell their business and stop

Norah Mallaney explains the significance of the probe being conducted by the anti-corruption commission:

…this investigation has the potential to be a turning point in East-Timor’s anti-corruption politics. Should the investigation, decision-making process and any potential penalties all follow anti-corruption legal procedure, the legitimacy of East-Timor's anti-corruption commission and the corresponding anti-corruption legal framework will be proven (temporarily) to its citizens and the world.