Former East Timorese prime minister Mari Alkatiri has called for the withdrawal of Australian troops from his country. Speaking to Agence France-Presse on August 20, he said: “It would be better for Australian troops to just return home if they cannot be neutral. They came here to help us solve our problems, but they came to give their backing to one side and fight against the other.”
Timor-Leste (East Timor)
On August 6, East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta appointed his predecessor, Xanana Gusmao, prime minister and asked him to form a government without Fretilin, the largest party in the parliament elected on June 30. Despite the constitutional legitimacy of this being unclear, GusmaoÂ’²õ government was sworn in on August 8. Since Ramos HortaÂ’²õ decision there have been outbreaks of rioting and arson, as well as protests that were tear-gassed by UN police and the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF).
East Timor: Beyond Independence
Edited by Damien Kingsbury and Michael Leach
Monash University Press, 2007
302pages, $36.95
Edited by Damien Kingsbury and Michael Leach
Monash University Press, 2007
302pages, $36.95
Shakedown: AustraliaÂ’²õ grab for Timor oil
By Paul Cleary
Allen & Unwin, 2007
336 pages, $29.95
By Paul Cleary
Allen & Unwin, 2007
336 pages, $29.95
Max Lane spoke to the Socialist Party of TimorÂ’²õ (PST) secretary-general, Avelino da Silva Coelho, in the wake of East TimorÂ’²õ June 30 parliamentary elections, in which the PST received 0.96% of the vote.
The June 30 election has resulted in neither of the two main contenders — the ruling party Fretilin and the recently formed CNRT (National Congress for Timorese Reconctruction) — gaining an outright majority for a new parliament. Fretilin secured 29% of the vote, followed by CNRT with 24%. After the result was announced by the National Election Commission on July 9, a process of wrangling ensued within the East Timorese elite over how the government shall be composed and who shall lead it.
East Timor is holding parliamentary elections on June 30. Many commentators predict former president Xanana GusmaoÂ’²õ new party, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), will form government, ousting the current ruling Fretilin party. However, a new government is unlikely to bring an end to the severe social and economic crisis besetting the country, Tomas Freitas from Luta Hamutuk (“Struggle Together”), a Timorese activist group that monitors the state budget and the petroleum fund (now worth US$1.4 billion), told Â鶹´«Ã½ WeeklyÂ’²õ Peter Boyle. Freitas is also a member of the Consultative Council on the Petroleum Fund, which is comprised of government and civil society representatives.
The start of the official campaign period for East Timor’s June 30 parliamentary elections has been marred by violence, including killings. The most serious incidents took place in Viqueque district, where two men were shot dead on June 3. An investigation by the Major Crime Investigation Unit and the National Investigation Unit is underway, focusing on a number of East Timorese police officers (PNTL).
The Socialist Party of Timor (PST) is fielding 65 candidates in the June 30 parliamentary elections, and also has 25 candidates on the supplementary list (which comes into operation if candidates withdraw or die, or vacate their position after the election). Fourteen parties are contesting the elections. Topping the PSTÂ’²õ list of candidates is party secretary-general Avelino Coelho da Silva. PST president Nelson Correia is second on the list; two well-known women activists, Angela Fraga and Maria de Carvalho, are the third and fourth candidates.
Amidst allegations of intimidation and politically orchestrated violence in the wake of East TimorÂ’²õ recent presidential election, political parties are preparing for the June 30 legislative election. The ruling party Fretilin, which won a majority of seats in the 2001 constituent assembly election, is facing the prospect of a significantly reduced representation in parliament.
The second round of East TimorÂ’²õ presidential elections, held on May 9, resulted in the victory of Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta. Ramos Horta, running as an independent, had won 73% of the vote with 90% of ballots counted. He won a majority in 10 out of 13 districts. However, Fretilin, the party of defeated candidate Francisco Guterres LuÂ’Olo, has alleged Australian interference in the elections, including the intimidation of two campaign rallies in the final week of the campaign by Australian troops from the “International Stabilisation Force” (ISF).
Max Lane spoke to Avelino Coelho, general secretary of the Socialist Party of Timor (PST) about East Timor’s presidential election, the second round of which was held on May 9.
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