ASIA/EAST TIMOR - Independence three years on: East Timor faces challenge of reconciliation and economic development

Saturday, 21 May 2005

Dili (Fides Service) - Today 20 May it is three years since East Timor proclaimed its independence from Indonesia. This tiny Asian country continues its toil to achieve national reconciliation and a future of prosperity. Yesterday, 19 May, marked the end of the United Nation mission in East Timor present since the 1999 referendum with which the East Timor people voted for independence from Indonesia. The referendum was followed by massacres committed by pro-Indonesia militia and an exodus of hundreds of thousands of people. However the United Nations will keep 275 representatives in Dili.
Two are the major questions regarding the future: bring those responsible for crimes committed during the passage to Independence; the need to re-launch the country’s economy, one of the poorest in Asia.
Trials began in East Timor thanks to the institution of the Grave Crimes Unit and 2 Special Courts to judge violation of human rights committed between 1 January and 25 October 1999, the date on which Indonesia formally renounced its sovereignty over East Timor. In Indonesia a Human Rights Court acquitted 17 of the 18 people accused whereas Dili and Jakarta instituted an “Inter-government truth and justice commission” which according to many observers will be ineffective in a prospect of general immunity. For this reason the UN sent 3 experts to Jakarta to assess the work of the Commission and to act as guarantors.
“Timor is still occupied with the difficult ask of healing the break in relations with Indonesia, an essential partner from the economic point of view, and therefore the most probable path, according to a criterion of political realism, would appear to be that of a compromise”, local sources told Fides, and they recall that “the local Church has always said that reconciliation can be reached only by following the principles of truth and justice”.
In addition to political problems there are also economic difficulties. Since independence chronic poverty has become acute and 60% of its gross domestic product is derived from loans from other countries or aid from the UN World Food Programme. The steep fall in the price of coffee, principal export for Dili aggravated the state of the economy already sorely tried by structural adjustment plans of the International Monetary Fund. Half the population is illiterate and 40% has no access to clean water. The main activity is subsistence farming which involves 85% of the labour force but fails to produce sufficient income.
A possible economic engine for Dili is represented by energy resources under the sea to the south of the island disputed with Australia. These consistent resources of oil and gas in the Sea of Timor are at present developed by Camberra, according to an agreement reached while the territory still belonged to under the dictator Suharto.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 21/5/2005 righe 37 parole 370)


Share: