Woodside last week walked away from plans to develop the Sunrise gas field off East Timor, citing regulatory and fiscal uncertainty in relation to the five trillion cubic feet resource.

The move put pressure on East Timor to consider using floating LNG technology or run the risk the project will not be built. But East Timor's Minister of State Agio Pereira says the government still prefers to have an onshore LNG plant.

"The pipeline to Timor-Leste has been proven to be economically and technically viable and will be used when Greater Sunrise is developed," he said.

He remains hopeful that the world-class gas reserve will be developed one day. "We have no doubt that it will be exploited in the coming years and be an important resource for the further development of our nation," he said.

Mr Pereira also reiterated his government's desire for Australia and East Timor to come an agreement on their maritime boundaries.

The Sunrise gas field lies in the Joint Petroleum Development Area, which is jointly administered by Australia and East Timor. But the pair have been unable to agree on tax issues and development plans.

"We do understand that fiscal certainty is important for business and believe that the best way to achieve long-term fiscal certainty and an optimal investment environment is to 'draw the line'," Mr Pereira said.

"The most straightforward way to achieve this would be by friendly engagement in this process by both countries under the norms of international law."

Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/02/23/east-timor-hopeful-future-lng-project

East Timor PM rejects Woodside's FLNG plan

Australian Associated Press - February 20, 2015

Kim Christian – East Timor's new prime minister has rejected Woodside Petroleum's plan to process gas offshore, leaving the $17 billion Sunrise project dead in the water.

RUI Maria de Araujo, who was sworn in to the fledgling nation's top job on Monday, has also outlined his unity government's priority to draw new maritime boundaries with Australia.

Woodside Petroleum this week shelved plans to develop the Sunrise gas field off East Timor, citing regulatory and fiscal uncertainty in relation to the five trillion cubic feet resource.

The energy giant's move has put pressure on East Timor to consider using floating LNG technology or run the risk the project will not be built.

But Mr de Araujo has reiterated his predecessor Xanana Gusmao's demands that the gas be processed on East Timor's south coast and said his country will not consider a floating LNG option.

"The pipeline to Timor-Leste has been proven to be economically and technically viable and will be used when Greater Sunrise is developed," a spokesman for Mr de Araujo said in a statement to AAP.

He also confirmed the East Timorese and Australian governments are in confidential discussions on the issue of boundaries.

East Timor and Australia have been unable to agree on development plans and tax revenue for the Sunrise gas field which lies in the Joint Petroleum Development Area, jointly administered by the two nations.

Australia's northern neighbour has previously said the longstanding CMATS treaty covering the Sunrise resource was invalid, casting uncertainty over the agreement to equally share royalties between Australia and East Timor. Drawing a permanent boundary could shift the resource into East Timorese territory.

The prime minister's office said East Timor was now seeking to "properly settle its maritime boundary with Australia".

"Timor-Leste has been blessed with a world class gas reserve in an area which will lie within its maritime boundary once delimited under international law," the spokesman said.

There was no doubt that Sunrise would be exploited in the coming years and the best way to achieve long-term fiscal certainty and an optimal investment environment was to draw the boundary line, he said.

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman on Wednesday said regulatory and fiscal uncertainty meant his company could not offer Sunrise to buyers as a viable project. Perth-based Woodside is cutting investment expenditure by 20 per cent and cutting more than 300 jobs.

Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/breaking-news/east-timor-pm-rejects-woodsides-flng-plan/story-fnhrvfsf-1227231713516?from=public_rss

East Timor's new leader Rui Araujo doesn't want Australian 'charity'

Sydney Morning Herald - February 19, 2015

Daniel Flitton – East Timor's new prime minister has signalled he will negotiate "in an honest and friendly way" with Australia over shared ocean oil and gas fields, declaring his country does not want charity but only to protect its rights.

Rui Araujo told Fairfax Media the present six-month suspension of East Timor's international legal action over a bitter spy row with Australia was a chance to explore ways to resolve the long-standing dispute over maritime boundaries.

"We respect Australia as a good neighbour, a very open and friendly neighbour, who has helped us in the past and understood our claims about our sovereignty," he said.

"We do not expect that Australia will have to be charitable with Timor Leste, we only expect that Australia will respect our rights."

Dr Araujo was sworn in on Monday as head of a power-sharing government after an extraordinary handover by independence hero and former prime minister Xanana Gusmao.

A member of the opposition Fretilin party, his accession to the top job has been likened by some commentators to Tony Abbott handing over to Bill Shorten.

Dr Araujo said East Timor was too small for divisive politics. "The pool of talent is very limited," he said. "We came to the realisation... we have to call everybody who is willing and who is capable of contributing to the development of this country to participate in the government."

But Dr Araujo dismissed concerns this would leave a toothless opposition, saying under East Timor's constitution – which creates a separate executive – all MPs regardless of their party affiliation had a duty to hold the government to account.

"In the coming weeks we will be presenting our government program and our revised budget because of the new structure of the government, and of course I would not expect everyone to just smile at us and say, 'Good, we'll approve you'."

Swinburne University East Timor specialist Michael Leach said the remake of the government marked a generational transition from leaders that have dominated the country's post-independence politics.

Mr Gusmao has become a minister of planning and strategic investment, with former ambassador to Australia Hernani Coelho taking up the key post of foreign minister.

Dr Araujo was 11 at the time of Indonesia's 1975 invasion, later training as a medical doctor while acting as a clandestine messenger for the resistance.

In his inaugural speech as prime minister on Monday, he said that with more than 50 per cent of East Timor's population younger than 19, governance must be directed to children and young people.

He praised the establishment of country's "Petroleum Fund" to bank proceeds of oil sales, now worth more than $US16 billion, and told Fairfax Media his vision for 2030 was for East Timor to be an upper-middle-income country, with well educated people and good health.

He said a recent disturbance in the Baucau district, which prompted an update to Australia's travel warning for East Timor, was criminal action against the police.

East Timor's maritime dispute with Australia stems back to 2004 negotiations for a treaty to cover vast undersea gas fields between the two nations, with an estimated worth running to billions of dollars. Australia is accused of spying on East Timor to gain a commercial advantage, leading to international court action.

East Timor is also pushing for resource giant Woodside Petroleum to develop processing facilities in the south of the country, rather than on a floating platform or in Darwin.

Dr Araujo said his approach to the issues would not differ from that of the previous government. "I see the opportunity of advancing on this issue. But I also am aware of the position that both Australia, the government, and oil companies have," he said.

"Of course the opportunity [is] to sit and bring our position to the table and discuss it in an honest and friendly way to achieve a common understanding and get the benefits for both sides."

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/east-timors-new-leader-rui-araujo-doesnt-want-australian-charity-20150219-13j60y.html

Woodside sees slim hope for East Timor LNG this decade

Reuters - February 18, 2015

Melbourne – Woodside Petroleum expressed doubts its Greater Sunrise gas prospect could go ahead this decade, leaving it off a list of growth projects out to 2019 and beyond in its annual results presentation in a bad sign for impoverished East Timor.

Woodside has been in talks over the past 18 months with the East Timor and Australian governments over options for developing the long-delayed project, held up by disputes over whether to build a liquefied natural gas plant onshore in East Timor or a floating LNG plant.

Chief Executive Peter Coleman said on Wednesday the big obstacle remains the decades-long battle between East Timor and Australia over sharing revenue from the Greater Sunrise fields, which lie in waters between the two countries.

He said the company had run out of steps it could take to move the project forward and it was difficult to justify spending time and money on Sunrise in the short term until there was certainty on regulatory and tax terms for it.

"Before you take that next step, you need to know who you're paying your rent to," Coleman told reporters on a conference call after reporting annual results.

"At this point in time we don't know what the regulatory framework is, we don't know what the fiscal framework will be, so we can't evaluate this project and we can't put it up to buyers as to being a viable project that they would be interested in."

He said the Australian and East Timor governments had given no timeframe for settling their issues, including their dispute over the maritime boundary, and said he did not expect former guerilla leader Xanana Gusmao's decision to step down as East Timor's prime minister would help speed up a resolution.

"I wouldn't expect that changes in leadership at any particularl time are going to make fundamental changes in the way this moves forward," Coleman said, noting that Gusmao was still going to hold a key ministerial position. "So he will remain quite influential I would expect."

Greater Sunrise is 33 percent owned by Woodside, the operator. Its co- owners are ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell and Japan's Osaka Gas.

[Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Richard Pullin.]

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/02/18/woodside-timor-idUKL4N0VS04920150218?rpc=401

Woodside Petroleum calls for alignment on Sunrise gas

Melbourne Age - February 9, 2015

Angela Macdonald-Smith – Woodside Petroleum has called for a resolution between Australian and East Timor of the renewed uncertainty over the administration of the Sunrise gas resource in the Timor Sea as it seeks to break the stalemate around its long-stalled $US13 billion ($17 billion) Sunrise gas project.

Woodside said settling the issues around the management of the Sunrise resource "would provide more certainty to investors and could potentially advance the development of Greater Sunrise".

The comments come after fresh uncertainty was thrown over Sunrise by East Timor last week when the parliament passed a law establishing a maritime council with the intent of settling permanent boundaries with Australia.

In a statement, government spokesman Agio Pereira said East Timor now considered the CMATS treaty covering the Sunrise resource "invalid", throwing the issue of boundaries, put aside for 50 years under the treaty, back into contention.

But last week's offer of resignation of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao may offer improved prospects for a negotiated settlement between Australia and East Timor on Sunrise. Mr Gusmao's successor is likely to be the opposition FRETILIN party's Rui Araujo, a former health minister, in a unity government that may be more open to discussions on Sunrise, East Timor expert Damien Kingsbury at Deakin University said.

Australia's National Security Committee is understood to have met last week to discuss relations with East Timor amid concern in the oil and gas industry that any move towards resetting the maritime boundary would put at risk significant investments in exploration and production projects.

Under the CMATS accord, Australia and East Timor would share equally royalties from the 5.1-trillion-cubic-foot Sunrise gas field. However, setting a permanent boundary could shift the resource entirely into Timorese waters, depending on where it was set.

East Timor has long been adamant Sunrise gas be developed through an onshore plant on its soil. While the Sunrise venture was favouring floating LNG, Woodside last year changed its negotiating tack, agreeing to reconsider the option of building an LNG plant on East Timor to process the gas. Its partners in the resource, including Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips, are thought to have reservations about the onshore concept.

But Professor Kingsbury said a "national unity" government under Mr Araujo "might open up greater scope for negotiation over Sunrise because FRETILIN has always been slightly more amenable" to a compromise on the field.

"A lot of people in East Timor would like to see the matter resolved," he said. "There is increasing awareness that the country will run out of oil and money if it continues along the same path."

ConocoPhillips noted the CMATS and arbitration proceedings in the International Court of Justice were temporarily on hold and said it was too early to draw conclusions about potential impacts.

Vice president commercial Mike Nazroo said the US player and its partners "remain committed to developing the Greater Sunrise fields", which requires alignment between East Timor, Australia and the joint venture.

A Woodside spokeswoman said: "We value our relationships with both governments and seek alignment that allows the timely progression of the development for the benefit of all stakeholders."

"Once alignment is established, we believe there is an opportunity to proceed with a development that will bring significant benefits including job creation, capacity building and infrastructure development."

Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane declined to comment.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/business/woodside-petroleum-calls-for-alignment-on-sunrise-gas-20150208-137uhy.html

Political parties & elections

East Timor swears in new prime minister and unity government

Agence France Presse - February 17, 2015

Dili – East Timor Monday inaugurated a new prime minister at the head of a unity government, as it seeks to hand power to the next generation of leaders more than a decade after gaining independence.

The change in leadership came after independence hero Xanana Gusmao resigned as prime minister this month, with his party nominating a replacement from the opposition to try to ease the nation's often fraught politics.

The former health minister Rui Araujo, a New Zealand-trained doctor and popular opposition Fretilin figure, will lead just the sixth government since East Timor gained independence in 2002 from Indonesia after a long and bloody struggle against occupation.

Araujo promised his administration would put the interests of East Timorese ahead of the political differences that have in the past brought the tiny half-island nation to the brink. "We can do better by working together," Araujo declared Monday in the capital Dili.

The new administration, which will meet for the first time Tuesday morning, has been trimmed from 55 members to 33 in a bid to slash spending and boost efficiency.

Several ministers embroiled in past corruption scandals and others from the old guard have been replaced by fresh faces in what analysts describe as a significant shake-up.

Far from bowing out entirely, Gusmao – the former guerrilla fighter who served as either president or prime minister since independence – will remain a minister in the new government.

"I think that would give comfort to many people, to know that he's still there, still keeping an eye on things just to make sure it goes smoothly," Damien Kingsbury, an expert on East Timor at Australia's Deakin University, told AFP.

Araujo paid tribute to his predecessor, who was credited with helping hold Asia's youngest nation together during its fraught early years.

Gusmao led the military wing of East Timor's campaign against Indonesian occupation which began in 1975, and was imprisoned in Jakarta for several years. He returned to his homeland a hero after the Timorese voted for independence in a UN-backed referendum in 1999.

Kingsbury described Araujo as a strong and unifying figure who can work competently across the aisle to avoid political crises, something many Timorese fear from a divided government.

East Timor has suffered bouts of unrest in the past, although recent years have been largely peaceful, allowing UN peacekeepers finally to leave the country in 2012.

But the new administration faces many challenges. East Timor remains one of the world's poorest nations and the government has struggled to improve the livelihoods of its 1.1 million citizens and diversify the economy away from oil and gas.

Graft is endemic, with East Timor ranked 133 out of 175 on Transparency International's corruption index last year. A number one ranking means the least corrupt.

Araujo said accountability and better service delivery would be key priorities of his administration, which will be put to the test when voters go to the polls in 2017.

Source: https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/26309280/east-timor-swears-in-new-prime-minister-and-unity-government/

Opposition party member sworn in as premier of East Timor

Associated Press - February 16, 2015

Kandhi Barnes, Dili, East Timor – Opposition party member Rui Maria de Araujo was sworn in Monday as East Timor's prime minister, leading a smaller 38-member Cabinet for the half-island nation.

The 50-year-old former health minister took the oath of office along with 37 Cabinet ministers in a ceremony presided over by President Taur Matan Ruak at the Lahane palace on the outskirts of the capital Dili.

Araujo replaced former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao, who resigned early this month to allow a new generation to take power. Gusmao remains in the government, becoming minister of planning and strategic investment.

"Today marks a new history of democracy in this country," Araujo said in his inaugural speech. "Our past has come to save our future, because our predecessor, the father of country, gave us, the new generation, a great responsibility," he added, referring to Gusmao.

Araujo joined the opposition Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor party, or Fretilin in 2010. He was nominated for the premiership by Gusmao's National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor, which holds 30 seats in the 65-member assembly.

The country's sixth constitutional government has 37 ministers under Araujo, a significant reduction from 55 in the last government.

Araujo described his government as a unity of wishes, experiences, talents and qualification above political competition that commonly happen in democratic countries.

Gusmao, 68, spearheaded East Timor's drive for independence and was the first president of the new nation until he became prime minister in 2007.

East Timor, a Portuguese colony for more than three centuries, was invaded by Indonesia in 1975. It voted overwhelmingly in a UN-backed referendum in 1999 to end the brutal occupation that left more than 170,000 dead, and became a sovereign state on May 20, 2002.

However, the country has been struggling to develop economically and about half of its 1.2 million people live in poverty.

Araujo graduated as a medical doctor in 1994 at Udayana University in Bali, where he had opportunities to support the resistance struggle and worked as special Bali liaison for Gusmao, then commander in chief.

While working at the provincial hospital in Dili, he quietly provided medical assistance to guerrilla fighters in the jungle before going on study in New Zealand where he gained a master's degree in public health in 2001.

He was appointed by Fretilin as health minister in the first government and then deputy prime minister of social affairs later in 2006. He was senior adviser in the health and finance ministries since 2007.

[Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this story.]

Source: https://news.yahoo.com/opposition-party-member-sworn-premier-east-timor-115157605.html;_ylt=AwrTWVWkeeRUDywAtCLQtDMD

As Xanana Gusmao departs, Timor must prepare for when the oil runs dry

Sydney Morning Herald - February 13, 2015

Tom Allard – In the annals of East Timor's extraordinary emergence as a nation state after 500 years of foreign domination, no figure has loomed as large as Xanana Gusmao.

As a young man, he filmed East Timor's declaration of independence from Portugal in 1975, fleeing to the hills nine days later when Indonesia invaded.

After 17 years as a resistance fighter and seven years as a political prisoner in Jakarta, Gusmao was transformed from a global symbol of the country's fight for freedom into a statesman.

Throughout its 13 years as an independent state, Gusmao has served as either president or prime minister. Now, the wily old warrior of East Timor's epic struggle for freedom is standing down.

In what may be his last great project, he has engineered, in minute detail, a stunning political compact which will see Rui Araujo, a member of the opposition party, take the top job in a government of "national unity".

Essentially a self-managed coup of his own government, the transfer of power has none-the-less been undertaken after extensive consultations with major stakeholders. It is, in the words of former president Jose Ramos Horta, a "new experiment in modern politics and democracy".

Unorthodox, certainly. But, in a country where political uncertainty can transform quickly into civil unrest, the transition, so far, has proceeded remarkably smoothly.

For Gusmao, the new government is built on competence. Explaining his choice of Araujo as his successor, he observed there was simply no one else in his own government who had the right "theoretical, technical and professional preparation" to replace him.

It is, at its heart, a generational change in leadership. But underscoring the power shift is a recognition that the fledgling nation still faces great challenges to secure its future.

The achievements of East Timor, razed to the ground by the departing Indonesian forces and ill-prepared for nationhood after decades of maladministration by its occupiers, are considerable.

Thanks in large part to the work of Gusmao, it remains a unified state, having recovered from the violence in 2006 that left 100,000 homeless as large parts of the security services mutinied.

Dili, the capital, is now a bustling city as oil revenue fuels a building boom. That money from oil and gas has been mostly invested in a sovereign wealth fund worth $16.5 billion and its investment returns finance most of the government's budget.

More than 750 new doctors have been trained and dozens of Timorese are emerging each year from universities around the world with master's degrees or better, many in highly technical areas.

Even so, oil and gas revenues still account for 90 per cent of the country's income, making the country arguably the most oil dependent in the world. The recent plunge in oil prices – and the declining production from the two fields in the Timor Sea that the country relies upon – weigh heavily on its outlook.

In recent years, there has also been growing criticism of an emerging culture of cronyism. Overlaid on it, and not unrelated to the corruption issue, has been increasingly bitter partisan fighting among its political class.

"They were starting to eat themselves. The legal system was being abused," said one senior government adviser. "It's been getting quite bad and Xanana's trying to bring the country together and bring the people together."

According to the Dili-based analyst Charlie Scheiner, Araujo, highly competent and popular among the people is the standout candidate to replace Gusmao.

"There are no questions about his personal integrity – which is unfortunately unusual for Timorese politicians," Scheiner says. "The big question is: how much independence will Dr Rui have?"

Gusmao will remain a member of the new government, taking on the influential post of Minister for Planning and Strategic Investment. While some argue Gusmao will be relieved to take a back seat, others feel he will still pull the strings.

"I call it a sort of 'phased transition approach' wherein Xanana will still exert a considerable amount of power, but presumably also be willing to support the new PM and the cabinet," says Susan Marx, the East Timor representative for the Asia Foundation, a non-profit development organisation.

"I hope the new government would take the opportunity to deal with some of the most critical issues facing the previous one including (but not limited to) a concerted effort to curb corruption and the perception of corruption; wasteful spending in the form of overseas trips, misuse of vehicles by officials; and the redoubling of efforts to instil public trust in institutions."

Scheiner, who runs the La'o Hamutuk think tank, has been a critic of the Timorese government's spending priorities. He argues large investment projects of dubious merit are taking precedence over spending on health and education. "More than half of the people in the country are living in poverty and that percentage is increasing. Very little money is spent on them. Health and education were cut in the last budget."

He believes the petroleum fund will run dry as soon as 2025 if the massive Greater Sunrise gas and oil fields – the source of a lengthy dispute between Australia and East Timor – are not developed.

Janelle Saffin, the former Labor MP who advises the Timorese government, says it will be at least 2036 before the fund runs down on the worst-case projections.

Either way, the overarching task of the TImorese government to secure the future of its population is to diversify its economy. For the new government, there is little time to lose.

Life and times of Xanana Gusmao

June 1946: Jose Alexandre Gusmao born to school teachers in East Timor. He adopted the nickname Xanana during his early career as a journalist, inspired by the "Sha Na Na" refrain in a pop song. 1975 After Timor suddenly de-colonised by Portugal, Gusmao joins the Fretilin movement and becomes a press secretary. Fretilin proclaims independence and Gusmao films the ceremony. Indonesia invades nine days later. Gusmao joins resistance.

1992; Gusmao arrested after 17 years on the run from the Indonesian occupiers. Gusmao was a senior military commander, fundraiser and propagandist for the resistance movement. Sentenced to 20 years in prison in Jakarta, where he continues to agitate for independence and meets his second wife, Australian Kirsty Sword.

1999: Gusmao – by now the unquestioned figurehead of the resistance – released from prison after Timor votes for independence and Indonesia leaves the country amid violence and the destruction of infrastructure.

2002; Becomes East Timor's first president. Late in his term, Timor is wracked by civil strife and the mutiny of half its security forces. As the fledgling state threatens to implode, Gusmao restores stability, convincing the unpopular prime minister Mari Alkatiri to stand down.

2007: Stands down as president, wins election and becomes prime minister after forming a coalition that ran against his former party, Fretilin.

2008; Gusmao's motorcade comes under fire one hour after president Jose Ramos Horta is shot in the stomach at his Dili home in a co-ordinated attack by rebel soldiers led by Alfredo Reinado.

2012; Gusmao wins second term as prime minister, and his coalition wins an increased majority. 2015 Resigns and hands over the leadership to Rui Araujo from Fretilin. Will continue in cabinet as minister for planning and strategic investment.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/as-xanana-gusmao-departs-timor-must-prepare-for-when-the-oil-runs-dry-20150212-13des2.html

Timor president picks Rui Araujo to replace Xanana Gusmao as prime

ABC Radio Australia - February 11, 2015

East Timor's president has chosen former health minister Rui Araujo to be the new prime minister of the country, the government says. Mr Araujo replaces independence hero Xanana Gusmao, who stepped down last week to allow for a younger generation to lead.

Mr Gusmao, 68, and his ruling CNRT party recommended Mr Araujo take the helm even though the New Zealand-trained doctor is from the opposition Fretilin party.

He's a unifying figure... his appointment as prime minister means the government will be a government of national unity. Deakin University's Damien Kingsbury

"The president of the republic accepted the proposal of CNRT, the most voted party at the last legislative elections, which nominated Dr Rui Maria Araujo for the post as prime minister," the government said in a statement.

Mr Araujo is expected to be sworn in this week as East Timor's fifth prime minister since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.

"Rui's appointment should transform Timorese politics by ushering in a new period of cross-party cooperation," Cillian Nolan from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict said. "The challenge will be to cultivate the same kind of authority and credibility as his predecessor."

Some analysts said bringing Mr Araujo and Fretilin into government was aimed at easing the country's often fraught politics.

"He's a unifying figure... his appointment as prime minister means the government will be a government of national unity," East Timor expert from Australia's Deakin University Damien Kingsbury said. Mr Kingsbury said Mr Araujo was "very, very popular" and regarded as "one of the young generation".

Many believe Mr Gusmao, who became prime minister in May 2007 after serving as the first post-independence president, will maintain influence in government. But it is not clear what role he might take.

East Timor has struggled to develop economically since independence. Despite gas production worth billions of dollars, about half of the country's population of 1.2 million lives in poverty, the World Bank said.

East Timor is trying to develop more of its natural resources to boost employment and government revenue. It is in talks with Australia's Woodside Petroleum to resolve a decades-long row over the Greater Sunrise project, which remains undeveloped 40 years after the gas fields were discovered.

Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, after Portugal abruptly pulled out of a colony it had ruled for three centuries, and annexed the territory later that year, maintaining a heavy and at times brutal military presence for decades. (Reuters/AFP)

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-02-11/east-timor-president-picks-former-health-minister-rui-araujo-to-replace-xanana-gusmao-as-prime-minis/1414087

East Timor's Gusmao to stay in government as investment minister

Reuters - February 11, 2015

Randy Fabi – East Timor's independence hero and out-going prime minister Xanana Gusmao will stay in the cabinet as investment minister, the government said on Wednesday, raising questions about the independence of the new prime minister.

Gusmao, 68, a guerrilla leader who helped end Indonesian rule over the poor half island in 2002, resigned last week as prime minister. Former health minister Rui Araujo was appointed as his replacement on Tuesday.

The president approved the new prime minister's cabinet list that includes Gusmao as head of a newly created investment ministry, which is believed to oversee planning, infrastructure and the statistics department.

"He knows where the money is. The parts that he has got seems to be the agencies that have the most control over the country's money," Charles Scheiner, researcher at Dili-based think-tank Lao Hamutuk, said of Gusmao.

"No one knows yet how much independence Dr Rui is going to have as prime minister and how much Xanana is going to try pull puppet strings."

Gusmao, who was prime minister for nearly eight years after serving as the first post-independence president, said he stepped down to allow a younger generation to lead.

Araujo, East Timor's fifth post-independence prime minister, said the new cabinet represented unity and consensus. Former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was not on the list of ministers who will be sworn in on Monday.

After decades under Indonesian rule, East Timor has struggled to develop economically since independence. Despite gas production worth billions of dollars, about of its 1.2 million people in poverty, the World Bank says.

Indonesia later allowed a vote and the people of East Timor opted for independence in a violence-plagued poll in 1999.

[Reporting by Randy Fabi in Jakarta; Editing by Robert Birsel.]

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/11/us-timor-politics-idUSKBN0LF0UK20150211?rpc=401

East Timor's Gusmao makes way for younger generation

DW - February 10, 2015

After leading East Timor since independence, Xanana Gusmao has resigned as PM, paving the way for a government overhaul. DW examines his life from guerrila fighter to national hero, and the issues facing his successor.

In a move that marked a new chapter in East Timor's short history, the nation's president accepted the resignation of Xanana Gusmao as prime minister on Monday, February 9. The 68-year-old submitted his resignation to President Taur Matan Ruak only three days earlier, after serving the Southeast Asian country either as president (2002-2007) or premier (2007- 2015) since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.

A successor for the independence hero has not yet been announced, but a new government is expected to be formed by the end of this week. A government official speaking on condition of anonymity told Associated Press, the Cabinet is expected to be reduced in size from 55 to 34 ministers and would become more inclusive, with opposition members among those appointed. Experts say frontrunners include former health minister Rui Araujo and state minister Agio Pereira.

Gusmao, who remains widely popular in the half-island nation, had reportedly been considering stepping down for some time to make way for a new generation of leaders.

The former guerilla leader, however, has not ruled out staying in politics, with analysts saying he may accept a ministerial post in order to continue playing a role in guiding the nation's economic development. Last week, Gusmao urged the people of East Timor "not to panic" during the transition to a new government, and called on everyone to "contribute towards stability."

From guerrilla fighter to national hero

East Timor had been a Portuguese colony for centuries until it declared independence in late 1975. But just over a week after the Portuguese had left, the territory was invaded by Indonesia. The ensuing 24-year-long occupation was brutal, resulting in an estimated 170,000 deaths.

This only changed in 1999 when East Timor voted overwhelmingly in a UN- backed referendum to end the occupation and thus become a sovereign state. In May 2002, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste – better known as East Timor – became Asia's youngest country.

Gusmao is credited with being an important driver of East Timor's struggle for independence as well as playing a critical role in rallying and keeping alive international support. He initially led an armed resistance as a guerrilla fighter, but was later imprisoned and spent the last seven years of the occupation in an Indonesian jail where he continued with his struggle from behind bars.

Gusmao was then released in 1999 as part of a UN-brokered deal and returned to his homeland a hero. He was elected the new nation's first president in 2002.

But decades of violence left the country and families torn apart. According to the World Bank, nearly 70 per cent of all buildings, homes and schools were destroyed, and an estimated 75 percent of the population was displaced. Nevertheless, analysts agree Gusmao, the former guerrilla fighter, has served as a unifying figure during the fraught early years of the country's independence.

As Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies, explains, Gusmao has been a central figure in Timorese politics for decades and is as responsible for the nation's political development as anyone else.

Throughout much of the time he was either president or PM, Gusmao also served as an independent candidate atop centrist coalitions that helped moderate the more radical politics of FRETILIN, the largest political party and former heart of the independence struggle.

Difficult beginnings

As with most young democracies, the greatest challenges facing East Timor have involved stability and economic development. There have been several episodes of renewed civil unrest after independence which have also delayed economic development.

In 2006, for instance, the economy of the small independent state shrunk following a deterioration of security. Gusmao, who was president at the time, was at the heart of the crisis which started with violence from members of the military and their supporters and ended with an international intervention and Gusmao demanding the resignation of the then prime minister as well as the establishment of an interim government until elections the following year.

The government also faced significant post-election violence in 2007, and Gusmao and then-president Jose Ramos-Horta both survived assassination attempts in 2008. But as Poling points out, despite these incidents, the relatively peaceful and well-run elections of 2012 gave cause for hope that East Timor has turned the corner toward a stable democracy. The UN also decided the country was stable enough to withdraw its peacekeepers.

During Gusmao's term as PM, which began in 2007, the economy also progressed rapidly, with strong GDP growth and a rise in per capita living standards as large new oil and gas revenues gave the government considerable new funding to spend on economic and social development. However, ensuring equitable and sustainable economic growth was to become one of Gusmao's key administrative challenges.

Over-reliance on oil and gas

East Timor continues to be one of the world's poorest countries, with about half of its 1.2 million people living in poverty. The country's per capita GDP is still very low, at 1,450 USD in 2014 and high inflation, unemployment and an over-reliance on gas reserves still plague the young nation which has also faced difficulties in addressing malnutrition.

"Despite rapid economic growth driven by oil and gas revenues from the Bayu Undan field since 2007, the transmission effects have not been sufficient to transform the domestic economy, with much of the population still living and working in rural areas, notably in subsistence farming," Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific Chief Economist at the analytics firm IHS, told DW.

The analyst explains the poor economic development is largely the result of years of protracted conflict, a lack of civil administrative structures and shortages of skilled workers.

East Timor has been blessed with significant offshore hydrocarbons, which have become the primary driver of economic growth and primary source of government revenue. But as analyst Poling points out, Timorese leaders have been keenly aware of the so-called "resource curse" that tends to create a cycle of dependency in oil-rich nations.

Oil and gas currently fund around 90 percent of the annual government revenue and also account for around 80 percent of GDP and 93 percent of exports. With the proceeds from gas extraction the government has established a sovereign wealth fund, hoping to ensure a more diversified economy and more widely distributed economic growth.

Economic woes

But many analysts say the young country is still struggling to diversify its revenue sources, and now faces the problem of depleting reserves from its major Bayu Undan oil and gas field, with reserves from this field projected to be exhausted by around 2024.

Negotiations on the development of a major new oil and gas field, Greater Sunrise, have been protracted with no agreement reached so far. Moreover, economists such as Biswas point out that the recent slump in world oil prices will likely be a further shock for the country's economy, as it will reduce oil and gas revenue.

"Unless the Greater Sunrise project can get the green light soon, the country's economy could face a devastating fiscal position and become highly dependent on donor aid as well as depleting the assets of its sovereign wealth fund, the East Timor Petroleum Fund," said Biswas.

While East Timor's sovereign wealth fund will likely provide a temporary buffer for the loss of oil and gas revenues, the size of the fund is still moderate, with an estimated 16.6 billion USD in assets, according to experts.

A key challenge for the new government will therefore remain the diversification of the economy, with analysts saying the administration should also focus on alternative new export industries such as tourism and developing new oil and gas projects to replace Bayu Undan.

'An invaluable precedent'

Analyst Poling believes that after a storied career, Gusmao's decision to step aside might end up being one of his best legacies.

The CSIS expert argues that the nation has been ruled since independence by a generation that served as guerilla commanders and politicians-in-exile during the struggle against Indonesia. Some have made the transition to civilian leaders better than others since independence, but the older generation's jockeying for power has been at the root of the country's repeated political crises.

"Gusmao, who is without a doubt the nation's most popular political figure, is now making a graceful exit that could set an invaluable precedent," said Poling.

Source: http://www.dw.de/east-timors-gusmao-makes-way-for-younger-generation/a-18247119?maca=en-rss-en-world-4025-rdf

Xanana Gusmao: East Timor's president accepts 'poet warrior's'

ABC Radio Australia - February 9, 2015

East Timor's president Taur Matan Ruak has accepted Xanana Gusmao's resignation as prime minister, leaving the former resistance fighter to wind down his celebrated career.

The former guerilla fighter has served as either president or prime minister since East Timor became independent in 2002, after a long struggle against Indonesian occupation.

Mr Ruak planned to meet with political parties this week to discuss the restructuring of the government and is expected to decide on a new prime minister by the end of this week.

Mr Gusmao led the struggle against Indonesian occupation, even from behind bars.

The charismatic 68-year-old, who sports a shaggy beard, was a journalist before he joined the pro-independence movement, the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin), in 1975.

Mr Gusmao became a member just days after the country declared independence when Portugal withdrew from the territory following its centuries-long rule.

However, East Timor's first attempt at going it alone was short-lived – just over a week after the Portuguese left, Indonesia invaded.

Gusmao continued to lead struggle from Jakarta jail

Mr Gusmao quickly rose through the ranks of the resistance and when Fretilin leader Nicolau dos Reis Lobato was killed, he was put in charge of reorganising the independence movement.

He became leader of Fretilin's military wing Falintil in 1981, spending much of his life in the jungle with fellow fighters who decades later would become the country's leaders.

It was during these years that Mr Gusmao, born Jose Alexandre Mr Gusmao, took on the code name Xanana, which came from a 1970s pop song that he says he has now forgotten.

He became a hero among Timorese but for Indonesian authorities, he was the most wanted man in the territory. He was finally captured in 1992, but continued to lead the struggle from jail in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

During his time in prison he met his second wife, Australian aid worker Kirsty Sword, with whom he now has three children. She taught him English by correspondence and sneaked into the prison to meet him face-to-face.

Mr Gusmao earned the romantic moniker "poet warrior" during his time behind bars, when he would paint and work on his poetry.

Independent East Timor's first president

The downfall of Indonesian dictator Suharto ushered in a new era of democracy for Indonesia and saw Mr Gusmao freed in 1999, hours after his compatriots voted for independence in a United Nations-administered referendum.

He helped reunify the nation after pro-Indonesian militias went on a murderous rampage following the vote, persuading militiamen to return home.

Mr Gusmao then won a landslide victory to become the country's first president in 2002. Following his five-year term he gained the prime ministership in 2007 by forming a coalition. He won a second term as prime minister in 2012.

Mr Gusmao has been credited with helping the young country through a series of crises – such as in 2006 when soldiers sacked from the army launched a mutiny which sparked deadly factional violence.

While he remains a popular figure, he has faced criticism for showing authoritarian tendencies, particularly during bouts of instability. The last major security threat was an attempt on Mr Gusmao's life, as well as that of then president Jose Ramos-Horta in 2008.

Recent years have been largely peaceful, leaving Mr Gusmao's government to focus on kick-starting the economy to alleviate widespread poverty in the nation of 1.1 million people.

He vowed to use billions of dollars from oil and gas revenues on development, and creating opportunities for young people. "With this money we have to improve people's lives," he said in an emotional speech at a campaign rally before his 2012 re-election.

He has long expressed his desire to resign, saying it is time for a younger generation of leaders to step up.

Nowadays Mr Gusmao fashions himself as a national father figure and denies he ever wanted to pursue a career in politics. He once famously claimed that he would rather have been a pumpkin farmer than a politician. (ABC/Wires)

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-02-09/xanana-gusmao-east-timors-president-accepts-poet-warriors-resignation/1413663

East Timor to decide on new prime minister this week

Reuters - February 9, 2015

Dili – East Timor's president is expected to decide on a new prime minister by the end of this week after accepting the resignation of independence hero Xanana Gusmao, the government said in a statement on Monday.

Gusmao, 68, a guerrilla leader who helped end Indonesian rule in 2002, submitted his resignation letter on Friday to allow for a younger generation to lead a nation that ranks among the world's poorest, despite its abundant gas resources.

President Taur Matan Ruak planned to meet with political parties this week to discuss the restructuring of the government. "It is expected that the constitution of the new government will be concluded at the end of the week," the statement said.

It was not immediately clear who would succeed Gusmao though experts say front runners include former health minister Rui Araujo and state minister Agio Pereira.

[Reporting by Lirio Da Fonseca; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Jeremy Laurence.]

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/09/us-timor-primeminister-idUSKBN0LD0I520150209?rpc=401

East Timor: political rival to be new leader as Xanana Gusmao resigns

Sydney Morning Herald - February 6, 2015

Tom Allard – East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has offered his resignation to the country's president, paving the way for a new government that will share power among the country's usually fractious political parties.

Rui Araujo, a leading member of the opposition Fretilin party and a former vice prime minister, is the overwhelming favourite to head a government of "national unity."

Mr Gusmao is likely to continue to play a role in government, most likely as a minister in charge of strategic planning and development.

Just months ago, Mr Gusmao's CNRT coalition government and Fretilin were engaged in a bitter political battle, much of it involving claims about corruption and gross financial mismanagement.

The apparent reconciliation is an extraordinary development, said Gordon Peake, author and long-time observer of East Timor.

"This is very unusual," said Dr Peake, who is in East Timor's capital Dili. "It's like Tony Abbott stepping down to become a minister in a government led by Bill Shorten."

"It's an example of the unpredictability of Timor's politics. What's also interesting is that there's no sense of crisis. It's been an orderly transition."

The "restructure" of the government will also include a slimmed-down Cabinet and four senior co-ordinating ministers drawn from different political parties.

Mr Gusmao was a guerilla fighter imprisoned by Indonesia and is widely revered as the hero of the country's independence. He dominates East Timor's politics like no other since the country's independence.

Approaching 70, Mr Gusmao has always been keen to ensure there is stability when he stepped down from the prime ministership.

He has been prime minister for more than seven years after holding the largely ceremonial post of president for five years. For much of his time as prime minister, Mr Gusmao has also been the minister for defence, intelligence and security.

"Members of government – staying, leaving and incoming – are all working together, prioritising the national interest of Timor-Leste and committed to respecting the dignity and legacy of Maun-Bo'ot Xanana", said Minister of State Agio Pereira, referring to East TImor by its official name.

Mr Gusmao will remain Prime Minister until his replacement is sworn in, which is expected next week.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/east-timor-political-rival-to-be-new-leader-as-xanana-gusmao-resigns-20150206-137yur.html

East Timor independence hero submits resignation as PM

Associated Press - February 6, 2015

Gantry Meliana, Dili, East Timor – East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao resigned as prime minister Friday, stepping down ahead of an expected restructuring of the government next week.

The former guerrilla leader spearheaded East Timor's drive for independence when Indonesian rule ended in 2002. He was the new country's first president, holding that position from 2002 until becoming prime minister in 2007.

East Timor voted overwhelmingly in 1999 to end 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation that had left more than 170,000 dead, but the country has struggled to develop economically. About half of its 1.2 million people live in poverty.

Speaking after a meeting with the president, Gusmao told reporters, "I call for East Timorese people to accept and support my decision."

An adviser to Gusmao, who did not want to give his name because he's not authorized to speak publicly about the resignation, said Gusmao felt now was the time to pass the responsibility of governing to the next generation.

A government restructuring is expected to be announced next week in which the Cabinet would be reduced from 55 to 34 ministers and would become more inclusive, with opposition members among those appointed.

A government statement said that Gusmao, 68, submitted his resignation to President Taur Matan Ruak. "Recently the prime minister encouraged all members of government to work calmly in this time of transition until the new government is sworn in," the statement said.

Gusmao did not rule out staying in the government in a different role, saying that would depend on the new prime minister.

Mariano Sabino, the spokesman for the coalition of three political parties supporting the government, said the parties agreed with his decision to resign. He said an announcement of the new prime minister to lead the country for the next two years would most likely be made Sunday or Monday, followed by a swearing-in ceremony.

Former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta was not expected to be in the new government, the adviser said. East Timor was a colony of Portugal until it declared independence in late 1975. It was then invaded and occupied by Indonesia until a UN-backed referendum in 1999 led to it becoming a sovereign state on May 20, 2002.

[AP writers Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this story.]

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_EAST_TIMOR_GUSMAO_RESIGNATION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-02-06-03-06-42

Timor Leste PM Xanana Gusmao submits resignation

Reuters - February 6, 2015

Marcelino Pereira, Jakarta – Timor Leste's prime minister and independence hero Xanana Gusmao has resigned, the government said on Friday, but a successor has yet to be chosen.

Gusmao, 68, a guerrilla leader who helped end Indonesian rule in 2002, had hinted for more than a year that he would resign to let a younger generation lead a nation that ranks among the world's poorest, despite its abundant gas resources.

"The government confirms that the prime minister of Timor-Leste, H.E. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, has sent his letter of resignation from the post of prime minister to the president of the republic, H.E. Taur Matan Ruak," a government spokesman said in a statement on an official website.

"It is now for the president of the republic to consider and respond to the letter of resignation," the spokesman added.

The two leaders met this week to discuss restructuring the government. It was not immediately clear who would succeed Gusmao though experts say front runners include former health minister Rui Araujo and state minister Agio Pereira.

After decades under Indonesian rule, Timor Leste has struggled to develop economically since independence. Despite gas production worth billions of dollars, about half of the country's population of 1.2 million lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

Indonesia invaded Timor Leste in 1975, after Portugal abruptly pulled out of a colony it had ruled for three centuries, and annexed the territory later that year, maintaining a heavy and at times brutal military presence. Gusmao led guerrillas fighting for independence from the hills.

Indonesia later allowed a vote and the half island opted for independence in a violence-plagued referendum in 1999. It become independent in 2002.

It was not clear what role, if any, former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta would play in a new government.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/international/timor-leste-pm-xanana-gusmao-submits-resignation/

East Timor leaders begin talks on possible new government

Reuters - February 3, 2015

Marcelino Pereira, Dili – East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is meeting the president this week to discuss a possible government restructuring, sending perhaps the strongest signal yet that the independence hero wants to step down.

Gusmao, 68, a guerrilla leader who helped end Indonesian rule in 2002, has hinted for more than a year that he would resign to let a younger generation lead a nation that ranks among the world's poorest, despite its abundant gas resources.

"From the signals we can read, I think it looks right now that the prime minister is more serious then ever about stepping down," said Cillian Nolan, deputy director of a Jakarta-based think-tank, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported last week that Gusmao had informed colleagues he would step down within days.

The government on Monday said the two leaders would meet throughout this week on a possible new government, but did not comment on Gusmao's political future.

"Prime Minister Gusmao has foreshadowed a major restructuring of the government for some time," a government spokesman said in a statement. "He said the objective of the change is to produce an executive that is efficient and effective."

Gusmao became prime minister in May 2007 after serving as the country's first post-independence president for five years.

Experts say front runners to replace Gusmao include former health minister Rui Araujo and state minister Agio Pereira. It was not clear what role, if any, former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta would play in a new government.

East Timor has struggled to develop economically since independence. Despite gas production worth billions of dollars, around half of the country's population of 1.2 million lives in poverty, the World Bank says.

[Additional reporting by Randy Fabi in Jakarta; Editing by Clarence Fernandez.]

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/03/us-timor-primeminister-idUSKBN0L70L320150203?rpc=401

Media & journalism

Timor Post – from nothing to success in 15 years

Pacific Scoop - February 28, 2015

Bob Howarth, Dili – Timor-Leste's media scene has blossomed and grown successfully in 15 years.

I have watched it grow and was lucky enough to be there on February 29, 2000, when the Timor Post printed its first edition... without a printing press.

My involvement started with a phone call from the University of Queensland in Brisbane when a group of Timorese journalists were completing a course in "post-conflict" reporting run by the former Reuters newsagency chief in war-ravaged Kosovo.

I met several now legendary reporters like Hugo Da Costa, Rosa Garcia, Jose Ximenes and Ote Otelio to name just a few. Their big problem was all their computers and printing equipment had been totally destroyed in the militia rampages in Dili in late 1999.

Within 24 hours we came up with an instant newspaper solution. Queensland Newspapers in Brisbane had recently upgraded its large editorial computer system for the Y2K (Year 2000 bug).

My boss at the time gave permission to send to Dili several PCs, laptops and laser printers. So the TL reporters flew off to Darwin with nearly 1000kgs of equipment. But no printing press.

Computers stored

The next problem was that they flew from Darwin to Dili on a UNC130 but could only take what they could carry. So most of the computers were stored in Darwin at the Northern Territory News newspaper.

I flew to Darwin a few days later to train Darwin reporters on a new library system and got approval to get the equipment to Dili (thanks to Perkins Barges, which did it for free), then fly in myself on February 25, 2000.

Dili was still burning when I arrived and found a bed at the Paximus Lodge.

When the equipment arrived on February 27 the Timor Post staff under Hugo Da Costa wanted to put out their first edition 48 hours later when Gus Dur, the Indonesian President visited Dili.

It was almost Mission Impossible but we did it thanks to the Australian Army which supplied power from their generators and Bob Buskins, general manager of the Paximus Lodge, who let us use his brand new A3 photocopier to produce 500 copies of the first Timor Post.

The bleary-eyed staff worked until 5am on Sunday, February 29, 2000, to print their historic first edition.

We drove in a taxi through Dili that morning, handing out free copies and excited people everywhere rushed to grab the pro-Timor newspaper since they had voted for independence.

Since then the Timor Post has continued to grow and prosper and become one of the country's most trusted news sources.

Parabens! Viva Timor-Leste! Viva Timor Post!

[Bob Howarth is a communications consultant now to the Bank of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby and a media communications fellow of the Institute for Peace and Democracy at Udayana University in Bali.]

Source: http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2015/02/timor-post-from-nothing-to-success-in-15-years/#more-24678

Environment & natural disasters

Ancient traditions protect the environment in East Timor

DW - February 18, 2015

Indepedent since 2002, East Timor is one of the world's newest nations. But when it comes to protecting the environment, it has a unique and ancient tradition to draw upon – the practice of tara bandu.

In the village of Irabere, in the remote highlands of the Uato-Carbau district of East Timor, a group of around 40 villagers wades through a river catching fish. Using small nets cast by hand, they make their way upstream in the shadow of the surrounding hills. Joining them, a handful of energetic local children play in the water, leaping at the chance to untangle a fish caught flailing in the nets.

The scene appears ordinary enough, but in fact it is part of "tara bandu," a three-day ritual to protect the river's ecosystem.

"Tara bandu is a practical environmental governance by our ancestors," explains Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho, advisor to the state secretary for environment, and co-founder of Haburas, one of East Timor's leading environmental organizations.

Do Amaral de Carvalho been at the forefront of combining traditional practices like tara bandu with government-led environmental initiatives.

"Tara bandu uses local knowledge of conservation and maximizes the social capital of villagers," he says. "It strengthens our community bonds, and also helps to protect the environment.

"For example, if a community has a lagoon – an important habitat for fish and other aquatic species – the community will protect that lagoon with tara bandu rituals for a period of time to let nature have time to restore itself... This will increase the amount of fish they have, and also distribute those resources to [the whole] community participating in that event."

Concerned by overfishing, the village of Irabere has decided to protect the river for the next five years. Small-scale subsistence fishing will be allowed, but only with permission of the village elders. Large nets and commercial fishing will be banned.

Tara bandu protection means there will be penalties for anyone attempting to break the rules. This could mean paying a fine in money or animals. But tara bandu also invokes the spirit world, so the consequences may not only be material, but also supernatural.

A ritual sacrifice

Early on the third and final day of the ritual, with mist still rising from hills and fields, a procession of over 100 villagers heads into the forest. A troupe of drummers wearing ceremonial head-dress sets the pace, led the village chief. Arriving in a small forest clearing, the procession stops at a large thatched hut raised on stilts, known as an Uma Lulik.

Deeply sacred, the Uma Lulik – or Spirit House – is a center of customary belief and practice. Close by, a buffalo awaits sacrifice with its horns tied between two trees and its eyes bandaged.

"We must spill blood for the tara bandu to have any meaning or effect," explains village chief Armindo de Silva.

Known locally as the Crocodile King, 65-year old de Silva is believed to have the power to command and control crocodiles. He certainly commands enormous respect from his community. While government dignitaries watch, de Silva leads the ceremony.

"The whole village helps to pay for the buffalo. The government is also now helping us to pay for the ceremonies," de Silva explains. "Before, under occupation, we could not even carry out tara bandu ceremonies."

Occupied by Indonesia for 24 years, and by Portugal for over 400 years, East Timor gained its independence in 2002. With a population of 1.1 million people, it remains one of the world's newest nations, still in the process of building national institutions. Independence has allowed many once-suppressed traditional practices to flourish, aided by a newly supportive state.

"Tara bandu gains its strength from the ancestors," says da Silva. "This ritual today will protect the fish, but also protect us from crocodile attacks. And it will help us to remember our culture and keep it strong."

A village feast

By early afternoon the buffalo has been sacrificed and the meat cooked on an open fire to be shared among the whole village. The offal is given to the river as an offering to the crocodiles.

Later, the government representatives give speeches, before the evening gives way to singing and dancing. Women link arms, their voices raised in rhythmic call-and-answer.

On of the world's most mountainous countries, East Timor faces many environmental challenges, from land degradation to water shortages, overfishing and overhunting. But the government is keen to support local traditions that help to protect the environment.

Do Amaral de Carvalho argues that rituals like tara bandu can be an important resource, at the intersection of the Western development models and some of the tiny mountainous state's oldest ritual beliefs.

"In Timor we have many traditional people with conservative values – they keep hold of these but they're not closed to new ideas," he says.

"Government and development agencies who are keen to introduce new values need to understand socio-cultural context, and work together with communities to implement them."

Source: http://www.dw.de/ancient-traditions-protect-the-environment-in-east-timor/a-18260999

Health & education

Health care assistance fails to reach remote areas of TL

Dili Weekly - February 9, 2015

Paulina Quintao – Lack of health posts and housing for doctors is preventing health care from reaching remote rural areas according to Deputy Health Minister Natalia de Araujo.

De Araujo added around 200 sukus out of a total 445 sukus nationwide have access to the health care while the others do not.

"We have adequate human resources be mobilized to all sukus but the problem is that some sukus don't have a health post and cannot provide housing for doctors and their families."

She acknowledged many mothers still give birth at home because they live too far from the nearest health facility. "But the Ministry is making efforts to increase the areas covered by adequate health care," said also the deputy health minister.

According to data from the 2010 Demography Health Survey some 78% of mothers were giving birth at home, with 19% receiving assistance from a traditional midwife, 61% were helped by a family member; and 15% did not get any help during while giving birth.

National Member of Parliament MP Bendita Moniz Magno said she was disappointed with the situation that women in rural continue to face with lack access to health care.

"Midwives have to assist births by candlelight. If they don't have candles they have to use their mobile phone flashlight. They also do not have access to medicines to stop bleeding," said MP Magno.

The MP also lamented the poor conditions of roads in remote areas in particular in the suku of Fatubolu, in Covalima district, where women are reported to have died because they had to give birth on the way to the nearest health post.

Meanwhile UNFPA Representative Doctor Domingas Bernando acknowledged the reality of many Timorese women, in rural areas as well as in the capital Dili who refuse to give birth at a health centre. She added distance is often a factor in preventing women from giving birth at a health centre.

Doctor Bernardo said also that many women are still ignorant of the risks to health during pregnancy and the birth of the child and continue go about their daily activities during the pregnancy rather than making time to visit a health facility.

"Mortality rates for mother and child are high and it is often because they do not know of the risks and symptoms during the pregnancy and while giving birth."

She expressed disappointment is some traditional practices that require new mothers after giving birth to sleep next to a fire as this often affects their health and that of the recent born who can develop a lung infection that then endangers the life of the recent born.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/health/13163-health-care-assistance-fails-to-reach-remote-areas-of-tl

MSS accused of lack of oversight over mother's subsidy

Dili Weekly - February 9, 2015

Paulina Quintao – Child Rights Group Representative from Ermera District, Ivonia Martins, believes the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) is failing to control the implementation of the financial assistance program for mothers (Bolsa da Mae-Mother's Subsidy) because some of the children receiving the assistance are the children of public servants.

Martins argued the MSS must control the implementation of the program because it is supposed to benefit vulnerable children rather than the children of mothers who are able to look after their children.

"We call for a clear explanation of the policy for financial support because children of public servants in the districts also receive the subsidy," said Martins during a public discussion between children and government members organized by the National Commission for the Rights of the Child (KNDL) held at MSS in Dili, in late 2014.

She also urged the MSS to update its database because some of the children who receive the subsidy are no longer at school.

In response to the question the Minister of Social Solidarity Isabel Amaral Guterres said all vulnerable children who regularly go to school are entitled to receive the financial assistance.

Minister Guterres added the children of public servants of low income are also entitled to receive the support.

She said also even though the MSS is responsible for the program that everyone is obliged to assist in its control and ensure the money of the state budget is used adequately to respond to children's needs.

"Everyone should contribute towards controlling the program. If anyone knows of children who are not entitled to the money they should inform MSS staff so the support is withdrawn."

Minister Guterres added financial support is available to vulnerable children, that is, orphans and children of parents with low incomes who are still at school.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/children-youth/13165-mss-accused-of-lack-of-oversight-over-mother-s-subsidy

Health Service woes at the National Hospital

Dili Weekly - February 9, 2015

Paulina Quintao – Member of the National Parliament MP Aurelio Freitas claims services at the National Hospital Guido Valadares (HNGV) are delivered too slowly because staff spend too much looking over the shoulder or bogged down with bureaucracy.

MP Freitas added public health services delivery has declined since the V Constitutional took office resulting in patient deaths.

"We could have saved them but because of too much bureaucracy and people looking over the shoulder they have died," said MP Freitas at the National Parliament, Dili.

He added the government needs to take this issue more seriously to avoid further unnecessary deaths.

MP Freitas highlighted the case of his former driver BC who died after being admitted to the national hospital on December 9, 2014 following a traffic accident where he broke his leg and sustained head injuries.

After being admitted to the hospital some doctors said he had to treat first his head injuries but other doctors said he need leg surgery before that.

Following the surgery to the victim's leg, doctors did not notice an improvement in his condition. The victim's family then arranged for their relative to have a CT-scan done to his head, after which it was determined that he had brain hemorrhages and needed to be transferred overseas urgently. Hospital bureaucracy delayed the patient's transfer and he ended up dying.

The President Commission F (for health, education, veteran, and gender equality affairs) MP Virgilio da Costa Hornai said services delivery management at the National Hospital need to be improved.

"We have money to purchase medicines and to pay for specialist doctors but our service delivery system and attitudes are poor. We need to do better," said MP Hornai.

The MP added services delivery is poor also because some of the leaders of the health sector do not like to receive criticism and demands from the community to improve the public health system.

The meantime the Vice Minister of Health for Ethics and Services Natalia de Araujo said her ministry is cooperating with the national hospital and providing training to build the capacity of health officials.

"We need to change their attitude so they provide better health care to the community," said the Vice Minister.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/13167-health-service-woes-at-the-national-hospital

Confusion reigns over status of public and private doctor

Dili Weekly - February 4, 2015

Paulina Quintao – In response to accusations the Ministry of Health has no control over public doctors working as private practitioners, Minister of Health Sergio Lobo da Costa said even though this is not supposed to be taking place that it is difficult to control because of a lack of a centralized ICT system to monitor the work of all doctors in the public health sector.

Minister Lobo said According to Decree Law 13/2012, on a Special Careers Regime for health professionals, doctors are not allowed to work as private practitioners during official work hours.

The health ministry is working with the telecommunications sector to establish an ICT system to monitor the work of health professionals across the whole country.

The minister acknowledged receiving several complaints from the family of patients regarding some health professionals leaving their duty stations.

"We need an ICT system to be able to control health officials because we often don't know whether they come to work or not," said Minister Lobo during a strategic development consultative workshop for national health to improve health outcomes in Timor-Leste, held in Dili in late 2014.

He added health professionals caught by the new ICT system will receive sanctions in line with the policies stated applicable to the public service of Timor-Leste.

Meanwhile the General Director of the National Hospital Guido Valadares (HNGV) Jose Antonio Gusmao said the hospital can only prevent doctors from working in private clinics during official work hours but not during their off times.

"They are only required to stick to their official working hours of 8-5 but after 5 p.m. if they want to pursue other activities; that's up to them," said Doctor Gusmao.

He added many of the doctors currently working in private clinics have not been prevented because they only begin work after finishing their duties at the national hospital.

Nevertheless Member of the National Parliament MP Eladio Faculto believes this situation reflects a lack of control by the Ministry of Health over doctors under the special careers regime applicable to doctors contracted as public servants. "I think there is a lack of control from the Ministry of Health," MP Faculto said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/health/13145-confusion-reigns-over-status-of-public-and-private-doctor

ME to rehabilitate 800 schools in 2015

Dili Weekly - February 2, 2015

Estevao Nuno – One of the priorities for the Ministry of Education (ME) in 2015 is to use funds allocated in the State Budget for education to rehabilitate 800 schools presently in very poor condition in remote areas of the country.

"We have identified 800 schools some will be rehabilitated and other will be rebuilt," said the Director General for Cooperative Services Antonio Pires, at the ME in Vilaverde, Dili.

In 2014 the ME was allocated $25 million and much of the funds were used to purchase the 100,000 desks and chairs that will continue to be distributed to schools around the country that need them.

The Program Manager of the Timor-Leste Coalition for Education (TLCE) Matias dos Santos supports the ministry's plan to repair damaged schools as well as furnish them.

"Some of the school buildings were damaged in 1999 and then again during the 2006 crisis," he said.

MP Eladio Faculto Member of Commission F (for health, education, culture, veteran and gender equality) said many schools across the country still lack facilities including chairs and desks, electricity and some also need rebuilding.

He hopes the government will look at this issue seriously this year because many schools, particularly in remote areas are still too inadequate to support student learning.

"I am concerned about the government's policies, plans and programs. They need to know what the plans are and what the programs are. This government needs to have program plans because without plans programs won't run."

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/education/13139-me-to-rehabilitate-800-schools-in-2015

Renal failure on the rise in TL due to poor water consumption

Dili Weekly - February 2, 2015

Paulina Quintao – Cases of renal failure are on the rise in Timor-Leste with one of the potential causes being the poor quality of water consumed by the Timorese.

The Chief of the Department Non-Infectious Diseases at the Ministry of Health Doctor Herculano Seixas dos Santos said research into the main causes of kidney disease has not been conducted but according to some expert's kidney disease occurs due to the consumption of water lacking in normal concentrated levels of calcium.

He added another of the causes of renal failure is hereditary and that if one of the family members has a history of kidney disease it is possible it will affect later generations but the percentage of such cases is low.

"Drinking water that lacks normal levels of calcium can cause kidney stones which may lead to renal failure," said Doctor Herculano during a community meeting to increase general awareness of kidney disease held at Balide Churk, in Bali, Dili.

The ministry of health has been conducting a campaign over the years encouraging people to always boil water to kill all bacteria living in it before consuming it. "It is unhealthy to drink it straightaway because it is harmful to people's health".

The ministry of health in cooperation with the secretary of state for water and sanitation including development partners are debating the ministry's plan of action to monitor and control clean water consumption and health of the community.

Suffers from kidney disease will require regular blood transfusions and in more serious cases might require a kidney transfusion that cannot be performed in Timor-Leste and is difficult even in more developed nations.

In later 2014 the Ministry of Health bought four additional blood transfusion machines for the national hospital increasing to eight the number of dialysis machines available for patients. Nevertheless the eight dialysis machines are not yet enough because the high number of patients requiring blood transfusions.

Currently 24 patients of kidney disease are undertaking treatment in Indonesian hospitals.

Meanwhile the National Director for Water and Sanitation Services (DNSA) Gustavo da Cruz said clean water distribution to the community is guaranteed to be of good quality because the water is filtered in a laboratory prior to distribution.

He added DNSA takes regular samples of water for laboratory analysis for bacteria and to undertake other chemical tests.

"We are confident that the water we treat at every station is of high quality but we cannot guarantee it at the consumer's homes because pipes are often drilled arbitrarily which may cause bacterial contamination," said Director da Cruz.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/development/13131-renal-failure-on-the-rise-in-tl-due-to-poor-water-consumption

Sexual & domestic violence

RF and DNTT raise awareness of gender based violence

Dili Weekly - February 2, 2015

Paulina Quintao – Rede Feto (RF) women's network umbrella organization and the National Directorate for Terrestrial Transportation (DNTT) launched a campaign to raise public awareness and in particular of public and private transport drivers in Dili about gender based violence and the law against domestic violence.

RF's Executive Director Dinora Granadeiro said the objective of the socialisation campaign is to increase awareness of drivers to contribute towards the reduction of violence against women and children in the country.

"As assessment conducted by Rede Feto in 2013 highlighted the prevalence of violence against women and that it often takes place public spaces and inside public transport. This is why we are focussing on the drivers," said Director Granadeiro in Dili.

She added despite the campaign starting in Dili that it would be also implemented in other districts in particular to district based drivers.

UN Women representative Liliana Amaral said the campaign was effective in raising the awareness of drivers so they can protect women and children when catching public transport.

Amaral said evidence shows public transport drivers do not often ensure the wellbeing and safety of passengers, in particular of women and children.

"Some drivers also perpetrate violence against women passengers to this campaign is very important to prevent violence against women and children in public places especially in public transport," she said.

The campaign aims to raise awareness and information of drivers about topics such as sexual assault, sexual abuse, gender, domestic violence so they can also be part in preventing all violence of this type against women and children in Timor-Leste.

Driver Tomas da Costa says the campaign encouraged the community to gain information and knowledge about gender violence but further socialisation of the campaign is needed.

"I think it is important to strengthen and raise awareness about the law against domestic violence so that the community is able to understand the regulation and that there is a legal basis to control it," said da Costa.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/13123-rf-and-dntt-raise-awareness-of-gender-based-violence

Rural women call for awareness raising about law against domestic

Dili Weekly - February 2, 2015

Paulina Quintao – Women's Parliamentary Group president Josefa Alvares Pereira Soares says rural women are unfamiliar with laws prohibiting domestic violence.

She said awareness raising efforts by the State Secretariat for the Promotion of Equality (SEPI) were insufficient.

"We have visited every rural area and identified that a large number of people don't know about these laws, therefore domestic violence is often unreported," she said. Community leaders also seemed to be ignorant of the laws, she said.

Awareness of SEPI vocal points was also poor. Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality Idelta Maria Rodrigues said NGOs, funded by SEPI, would raise awareness of the laws.

"We have provided financial support for 23 groups to raise awareness about the laws against domestic violence for rural residents and village chiefs," she said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/13115-rural-women-call-for-awareness-raising-about-the-law-against-domestic-violence

Judiciary & legal system

Female justice officials need protection

Dili Weekly - February 9, 2015

Venidora Oliveira – Members of Parliament have called for protection detail to be available to female justice officials when serving court summons.

Commission F (health, education, culture, veterans' affairs and gender equality) member Eladio Faculto said justice officials needed protection.

"Sometimes the accused men refuse to offer themselves and they may be angry and shout at the justice officials. It is complicated," Faculto said. These situations could pose threats to justice officials' lives.

Judicial System Monitoring Program executive director Luis Oliveira Sampaio agreed with the call for protective measures. "There has been no co- ordination and inadequate protection for them so far," he said.

Dili District Court judge administrator Duarte Tilman said he did not believe officials were at risk. "The security is that people will comply with the laws," he said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/gender/13161-female-justice-officials-need-protection

Draft juvenile justice law scheduled for CoM debate

Dili Weekly - February 4, 2015

Paulina Quintao – Deputy Justice Ministry Ivo Jorge Valente said the draft Juvenile Justice Law has been completed and has been scheduled for debate at the Council Ministry (CoM) prior to being send to the National Parliament for further deliberation.

Deputy Minister Valente added the law itself was not difficult to draft but he is worried about its eventual implementation because of a lack of human resources.

"For example many laws have been approved but that have not been executed due to our human resources and infra-structure. We were too quick to approve the laws," said Deputy Minister Valente in his office in Colmera, Dili. He added lack of judicial human resources will hamper the implementation of the law.

He said also when the law is passed by the National Parliament and promulgated by the President, all entities will be responsible for its implementation, but in particular those ministries who were involved in its development including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Solidarity, Education Ministry, Secretary of State for Vocational Training Policy and Employment (SEPFOPE).

Children's rights representative Ivonia Martins said it is important to have this law so children at risk can be protected from violence. She added that despite Timor-Leste getting independence for almost 15 years, the country still does not have laws that protect children from violence.

"We urge the leadership to prioritize the Juvenile Justice Law so it can act as an umbrella for other laws to protect our children because they are the future of the nation."

She said currently many children smoke, drink, watch pornography, sell goods in the middle of the night and that is because there isn't a legal basis to protect them.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/children-youth/13157-draft-juvenile-justice-law-scheduled-for-com-debate

MP urges MJ to translate the civil code to Tetun

Dili Weekly - February 2, 2015

Venidora Oliveira – Member of the National Parliament MP Arao Noe urges the Ministry of Justice to work towards translating the Timorese Civil Code Law to Tetun because it was difficult for Timorese to understand its current Portuguese version. MP Noe said it requires very high Portuguese language ability to understand juditial terms and if someone only speaks basic Portuguese he of she will not understand the content of the civil code.

"It should be translated to Tetun," said MP Noe at the National Parliament, Dili. He added that when the code was passed the Ministry of Justice was left in charge of its translation to Tetun before distributing it.

In response to the concerns raised Vice Minister of Justice Ivo Valente said the Civil Code Law will finish being translated to Tetun in 2015. "The Civil Code Law is being translated," said Deputy Minister Valente.

The Vice Minister added the code has 2195 articles and that it takes time to adequately translated the law. "We need to ensure the translation is done well."

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/security-defencejustice/13137-mp-urges-mj-to-translate-the-civil-code-to-tetun

Foreign affairs & trade

Indonesia to boost ties with East Timor, Pakistan

Jakarta Post - February 6, 2015

Margareth S. Aritonang, National – Indonesia will soon have a legal foundation for its defense agreements with both East Timor and Pakistan, as the House of Representatives is expected to ratify the agreements struck between Indonesia and the two countries.

The ratification will allow Indonesia to improve joint military training, exchange intelligence information and trade weapons with both East Timor and Pakistan.

The Indonesian government began improving ties with Pakistan in 2010, when officials from both countries signed the defense agreement in Islamabad. The cooperation with East Timor, meanwhile, was signed in 2011.

With the defense cooperation with Pakistan, Indonesia expects to enhance its ability to intercept terrorists returning from Afghanistan. With respect to East Timor, Indonesia hopes to collaborate on border control.

"The ratification of both agreements will undoubtedly further improve our bilateral ties with East Timor and Pakistan," Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu told lawmakers from the House Commission I overseeing defense, foreign affairs and information on Thursday.

Ryamizard added that both ratifications would include pledges not to use international courts to settle problems, encouraging the countries to find diplomate solutions to any future disputes.

Once endorsed, the agreement will require the establishment of joint committees responsible for comprehensively identifying strategic issues for both parties. None of the 10 political factions on Commission I criticized the government's proposal, but the majority said they wanted to ensure that the government was able to optimize benefits.

Many lawmakers said that while Indonesia could benefit from a cooperation with Pakistan, a country well-known for its defense industry, with respect to East Timor, they were less sure.

"East Timor will benefit from a joint military training with us, but I don't see any advantage that we will receive from it because we are more developed," Andi Muhammad Ghalib of the United Development Party (PPP) said.

House Commission I has also told the government to endorse a Law No. 16/2012 on the defense industry that requires the transfer of technology into Indonesia from any country hoping to build defense ties with Indonesia.

"By upholding such a law, we will have the opportunity to improve our own technology in order to eventually develop our own weapons," Commission I chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/02/06/indonesia-boost-ties-with-east-timor-pakistan.html

Mining & energy

85% of rural residents unfamiliar with the prepaid electricity meter

Dili Weekly - February 4, 2015

Venidora Oliveira – Member of the National Parliament MP Anastacia da Costa Amaral claims some 85 percent of rural Timorese are not familiar with the prepaid electricity system set up by the EDTL Electricity of Timor- Leste Directorate.

MP Amaral most rural people have no idea how to use the prepaid electricity credit (pulsa) sold by EDTL. "They do not know what they have to do with the pulsa," said MP Amaral in the National Parliament, Dili.

She urged the government to raise awareness in rural communities before implementing the prepaid electricity system in rural areas. "Part of the raising awareness should include explaining to the community how to use the credits."

National Director General of EDTL Virgilio F. Guterres said he does not agree with the MP's statements because his technical teams regularly explain to the community how to use the top-up electricity pulsa and that this is done prior to installation of an electricity counter in homes.

"Since early 2014 my technicians have been explaining to the community how to use the credit," said Director Guterres.

Meanwhile Dili Maria Fernandes claims it is not only rural Timorese but also people living in the capital Dili still do not understand the electricity top-up credit system. "I want to use the pulsa system but I have no idea how to," she said.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/13153-85-of-rural-residents-unfamiliar-with-the-prepaid-electricity-meter

Language & culture

Alola Foundation calls on government to safeguard originality of Tais

Dili Weekly - February 2, 2015

Paulina Quintao – The Alola Foundation (FA) is urging the Timorese government to create regulation that will protect the originality of the Tais (traditional cloth) of Timor, including motifs used least it disappear.

FA's Executive Director Reis said currently fake tais from other countries copying traditional motifs of Timor dominate markets in the country.

She said the state is obliged to protect the motifs and the original colours of the Timor Timor as it represents the identity of Timor around the world.

"In Timor we don't yet have copyright laws so products from other countries come in and we cannot protect our original colours," said Director Reis at her FA's office in Mascarenhas, Dili.

She added that FA provides training for women's groups to keep weaving traditional tais and promote the use of original Timor colours by using local leaves and bark because the original colours of Timor are disappearing.

Meanwhile the Secretary of State for cooperatives and industry (SEKI) Filipus Nino Pereira acknowledged the issue and added this is happening because Timor-Leste still does not have a legal basis to protect the original Tais of Timor.

"Yes, the regulation is the government's responsibility. In particular secretary of state for culture and the ministry of commerce, industry and environment must address this issue in future to project the motifs and the original colours the the Timor tais," said Pereira.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/news/13119-alola-foundation-calls-on-government-to-safeguard-the-originality-of-the-tais-of-timor

Analysis & opinion

Charisma and stability were Gusmao's hallmarks

The Guardian (Australia) - February 7, 2015

Damien Kingsbury – The resignation from office by East Timor's prime minister, Xanana Gusmao, was not unexpected. He had flagged his intentions over the past year. But it has sent shock waves throughout East Timor, where many believe his departure will create an unfillable political void.

Yet East Timor is likely to remain stable in an immediate post-Gusmao environment, rather than return to the chaos of 2006-07. And it will probably retain its democratic hue, if in a modified form.

Gusmao has been the towering figure in East Timorese politics since assuming leadership of resistance to Indonesian occupation in 1981. After his capture in 1992, Gusmao led the resistance from prison in Jakarta, becoming a cult-like figure within East Timor and beyond.

His misinterpretation of what was to become East Timor's constitution saw him become a non-executive president in 2002. Prime minister Mari Alkatiri's mishandling of a fragile domestic environment led to open violence in 2006, which saw Gusmao reassert his political authority, forcing Alkatiri to resign.

A Gusmao-led coalition won the 2008 elections, and he became prime minister. He was re-elected in 2012. In both the 2008 and 2012 elections, Gusmao's anointed candidate – first Jose Ramos-Horta and then Taur Matan Ruak – were elected as president. His authority seemed all but unassailable.

However, even after the 2008 elections, there was a view that the "generation of 75" political leaders should start to make way for the "young generation". Over the past couple of years, Gusmao has increasingly looked to them for successors.

Since 2008, Gusmao has been both the key stabiliser of East Timorese politics and a centralising force in political decision-making. He has attracted criticism for personalising power, yet East Timor's ministers have often been inept and, without central decision making, little would have been achieved. As it is, East Timor's development record is mixed, improving off a low human base but with major projects running over time and over budget.

There has also been extensive criticism of blossoming official corruption under Gusmao's prime ministership. This has been directed primarily at the awarding of government contracts to family members of cabinet ministers.

The long expected cabinet shake-up currently underway is expected to remove a number of ministers under investigation for corruption, as well as reduce the size of cabinet from 53 – an unwieldy number, arguably bloated.

The first likely outcome of this cabinet shake-up is that, after having been cast into the political wilderness in 2008, senior members of leftist political party Fretilin will likely be included in a new "government of national unity". The most likely successor to Gusmao as prime minister is the popular former Fretilin deputy-prime minister and health minister Rui Araujo.

Although aged 50, Araujo is seen as one of the "young generation" of political leaders. He is popular with most East Timorese, is regarded as having considerable personal capacity, and is seen as a potential consensus prime minister. His appointment would then go a long way to ensuring the country's continued stability.

Gusamo has said that he will remain in the political background, possibly as senior minister, to ensure that the succession goes smoothly. If there is a serious threat of the country returning to chaos he, and president Taur Matan Ruak, would be prepared to step back in.

A unity government is likely to satisfy most major political actors, but it is also likely to leave East Timor without a viable opposition. There is, however, a view among many East Timorese that opposition breeds conflict and that consensus fits better with traditional decision-making.

The experience of political fronts – or dominant parties without viable opposition elsewhere – is that they tend towards a lack of accountability, corruption and sometimes intolerance of dissent. This may be an issue that East Timor could face if it retains a "government of national unity" into the longer term.

For now, Gusmao has shown that charismatic, dominant leaders can choose the timing of their political departure, and can better manage the transition from a position of continuing authority rather than its sudden loss.

East Timor is still finding its way along a difficult post-independence path. It is a period in which many other countries stumble or fall. Gusmao choosing his own timing to step down is likely to smooth the transition process. But the many problems of this young and still fragile nation will remain to confront his successor.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/07/charisma-and-stability-were-gusmaos-hallmarks-he-wont-allow-his-departure-to-ruin-that