<nettime> Thoughts/Report - Timor Lorosa'e - 25 Jan 2000 (from Dili)

[Sam.de.Silva@bbs.thing.net (sam@media.com.au)]

Thoughts/Report - Timor Lorosa'e - 25 Jan 2000
by Sam de Silva (from Dili)
These are personal thoughts, opinions and views expressed by me.
-------

When I returned to Dili last Tuesday (18Jan2K), after spending a week in
Darwin, I was told by an East Timorese friend that now "foreign people are
no longer welcome in East Timor". He was referring to the recent troubles
surrounding UNTAET's attempts at recruiting staff. 9,000 people turned up
for interviews and most were understandably annoyed to find that English
was a pre-requisite before employment. 

That night, I met another friend, this time an Australian, who predicted
that within a month, all the places, like the Dili Hotel, will have barbed
wire around it and armed guards outside, ensuring that the foreign
community can drink in safety. Maybe he was being a bit too pessimistic,
but his opinions were formed after going to the markets with two East
Timorese female staff to buy some supplies. According to my friend, they
were verbally abused, and the young women had stones thrown at them.

There have been several incidents in Dili during the week. Shots were
fired, a bullet grazed the head of one person, and  Xanana had to be called
to resolve the problems which involved some 300 people, including Falintil
instigators. Apparently, two Falintil are being kept in a 'cell' at the
CNRT headquarters. More information about these incidents can probably be
found on news websites.

A warehouse owned by Manuel Carascalao was broken in to in the middle of
the day on Saturday (21Jan2K) and apparently 12 tonnes of rice was stolen
with the help of 200 people and three big trucks  and according to my
source, CivPol just stood and watched the robbery occur. The next day, two
shops were also broken in to and items stolen. The motivations behind the
robberies are not clear. Perhaps it was simply theft - but some people I've
spoken to say that there could be more behind the robbery at Manuel
Carascalau's warehouse. Some say it is to send a message to him that people
are not happy about his collaboration with Wayne Thomas and others say that
some of his political colleagues might have had some involvement. 

Rumours are everywhere. The real story is hard to find in Timor Lorosa'e.
But now the first East Timorese newspaper since the ballot has appeared.
The first edition of "Lalenok" was published by Kdalak Media Group, last
Tuesday (18Jan2K). It is currently a weekly paper, written in Tetum, and
composed of eight photocopied pages. There is no accessible printing
facilities here. The stories in the newspaper included security at the
border, an article questioning whether people have a political conscience,
RENETIL and its new relationship with CNRT, the difference in attitude
between peoples of Timor Lorosa'e, and the dispute over the Timor (Dili)
Lodge. "Lalenok" is a tetum word which means 'mirror', and tomorrow, the
next issue comes out.

There was much unrest at the border during early last week. According to
InterFET, there were five incursions during 72 hours. The borders of
enclave of Oecussi were crossed by militia and InterFET fired shots to
disperse them back to Indonesia. But soon, in late Febuary,  there will be
a transition from InterFET to UNTAET Peacekeeping force, and then a
Jordanian battalion will be responsible for the security of  Oecussi and
the safety of its peoples.

One has to ask why the UN decided to send a Jordanian battalion to the
enclave of Oecussi knowing that this would become an issue with the people
of East Timor. Jose Ramos Horta has publicly criticised the decision.
Jordon gave santury to former Indonesian General Probowo. No East Timorese
appears pleased with the decision. However, the UN at this point, won't
back down. They claim that Jordan was the only country to offer a battalion
for Oecussi and that in their opinion, there is no reason why the
Jordanians can't be trusted. 

It will be interesting to see how UNTAET cope with their new responsibility
of managing security and safety in Timor Lorosa'e - considering most East
Timorese people I speak to are not at all satisfied with UNTAET's
performance to date. To many of them, UNTAET is a group of foreigners
driving landcruisers and dancing at the nightclub on the floating hotel,
Olympia. In Dili, there is not much reconstruction work that has occurred -
the destruction is still clearly visible where ever one travels to. Only a
very small minority of East Timorese have jobs, and the others wait, hoping
that one day soon they too will get work, and have the ability to earn
money in order to get hold of some US$ that will soon be needed to by the
vegetables at the markets. But it is difficult to see how the high rates of
employment needed will occur in the short-term.

The decision to use the US dollar as the official currency was announced
late yesterday (24Jan2K) afternoon. Apparently the decision was made
unanimously by the NCC (National Consultative Council) with advice from
IMF. At the press conference, the IMF man (Luis Valdivieso) did most of the
talking. He stressed that the decision was made after "pragmatic
consideration". I wonder if they took in to consideration the impact the
decision will have on the ordinary person. 

"They've been here over three months and we will give them another three
months" says another East Timorese friend. It feels like the rage against
the new machines is only just beginning. 


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