Matthew Pennington – Thirteen years after winning independence from Indonesia, East Timor has to wage another struggle for justice with a more powerful neighbor – but this time in the courts, the nation's prime minister says.

After two years of inconclusive technical talks, East Timor last week announced it was initiating arbitration with Australia on jurisdiction of a seabed petroleum field – the latest round of litigation in a messy dispute between the two countries over how they split lucrative oil and gas revenues.

"We are claiming what belongs to us. It's an issue of sovereignty and an issue of justice," said Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo, who took office in February after independence hero Xanana Gusmao resigned to make way for a new generation of Timorese leaders.

Araujo spoke to The Associated Press Wednesday on the sidelines of the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN.

East Timor, an impoverished nation of 1.1 million, became a sovereign state in 2002. It depends on petroleum revenues for 90 percent of its economy and is concerned that funds could dry up within years.

In the new litigation, East Timor is disputing Australia's exclusive right to the jurisdiction and taxation of the pipeline leading into a joint petroleum development area.

Australia said last week it will defend against the legal action. It said that the treaty under which the two nations divide the revenues states that jurisdiction depends on where the pipeline lands, which is in northern Australia. East Timor has already challenged the validity of the 2006 treaty.

It contends that Australia spied on it during negotiations for the treaty. And in 2013, it launched a legal action at the International Court of Justice after Australian police seized documents from a lawyer representing East Timor who allegedly witnessed the spying. The court banned Australia from using the seized documents and it returned them to East Timor.

Araujo said the crux of the dispute with Australia is over where the maritime border in the Timor Sea lies. The territory jointly administered by the two countries currently follows a boundary set in 1972 when East Timor was still occupied by Indonesia. That boundary is much closer to the coast of East Timor than Australia. East Timor wants it to be set at a median line between them, so more of the petroleum fields would lie in its waters, so it would earn more revenue.

In June, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told parliament that Australia would resist East Timor's effort to redraw the sea border between the nations as delineated under the 2006 treaty. She said the treaty was already generous enough.

Under the current arrangements, revenues from the Bayu Undan gas and condensate field that has been exploited for the past decade are divided up 90-10 in East Timor's favor. But Araujo said the field has passed its peak production and is expected to dry up within five to ten years.

Revenues from the planned Greater Sunrise field would be split 50-50, but 80 percent of the field lies in Australian waters so it would earn the lion's share if production starts.

Araujo says despite the political disagreement over the oil revenues and maritime border, relations with Australia are good, and he has invited new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to visit East Timor.

Still, Araujo likens the long-running legal travails to the 24-year armed struggle against Indonesian occupation that had left more than 170,000 dead – a struggle that few outsiders expected East Timor to win, until a UN- administered referendum in which its people voted for independence in 1999.

"People were pessimistic, saying that Indonesia will never go out from East Timor because all the big Western powers were supporting Indonesia. The only thing we used as a strong moral and political motivating factor was international law," he said.

"It may sound rhetorical, but we think that we are in the right side again."

Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/east-timor-primed-for-legal-tussle-with-australia.html

Health & education

Cuban family doctor program to be implemented in East Timor

ACN - October 8, 2015

Havana, Cuba – Having extended the Medical Program of the Family throughout East Timor by November 2016 is the aspiration of Rui Maria de Araujo, its Prime Minister, who takes the Cuban health system as a model for this effort.

Speaking to the press, the premier, on an official visit to the Caribbean island, said that more than 840 Timorese doctors have graduated in Cuba, and that it is precisely these young physicians the ones that are contributing to create a scheme of health care in community centers.

We started a few months ago, but we hope that by next year a primary health care system will be set up, he announced, where students that graduate in Cuba can show the academic training they received, but above all, the ethics and humanism that were transmitted to them.

Araujo stressed the usefulness of the visit, where existing agreements in other areas such as education, sports and agriculture were strengthened.

It is expected that, as a result of the premier's exchanges with Cuban officials, the method "Yes, I can continue" will soon be implemented in East Timor to give continuity to the studies of the 190,000 people who learned how to read and write there with Cuban teachers.

The agenda of the distinguished visitor included a meeting of more than four hours with Raul Castro, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, as well as an extensive exchange of views with the member of the Political Bureau of the Cuban Communist Party and President of the National Assembly of the People's Power, Esteban Lazo.

Source: http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/cuba/3873-cuban-family-doctor-program-to-be-implemented-in-east-timor

Sexual & domestic violence

46% of cases seen are sexual assault of girls younger than 16 years old

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2015

Paulina Quintao – The Executive Director of the Legal Assistance for Women and Children (ALFeLa) Merita Correia said in 2014, 46% of cases it received pertained to cases of 16 year old girls who were sexually assaulted by a close relative and other people.

The percentage represents almost half of the number of victims who received legal assistance from ALFeLa through the formal justice process in 2014.

"Some 46% of underage 16 girls were sexually abused by their uncles, fathers and neighbors," said Director Correia after launching annual reports at the ALFeLa hall in Vila-Verde, Dili.

ALFeLa's data collected for 2014 shows that 132 persons (29%) fell victim to sexual assault and of the number 61 girls (46%) under the age of 16 were sexually assaulted by a close relative and other people.

ALFeLa and its partners are making advocacy of the government's and legislative policies to produce a specific article to be included in Penal Code Article 163 pertaining to the crime of incest.

"Evidence concerning incest is easily obtained but it's hard prove the evidence when incest happens to a young single woman as a victim seldom comes forward against her father," said Correia.

This is why ALFeLA is urging the government to criminalise incest to include for cultural and religious beliefs in Timor-Leste.

The National Commissioner for The Rights of the Child (KNDL) Maria Barreto has concerns that the rates of sexual assault against underage girls seems to be increasing every year. She added that KNDL will continues to make advocacy of governmental policies to take the issue into account to ensure that justice is for all.

"We are responsible for making advocacy of policies and responsible decision-making, in particular making some alterations and revisions to the existing penalty code as the code is unlikely to protect the victims of incest," said Commissioner Barreto.

In 2014, KNDL organised a meeting with civil societies, legislators and governors to talk about the rights of the victims of incest.

Commissioner Barreto added that at that meeting, current Minister of Justice Dr. Ivo Jorge Valente and several Members of Parliament agreed to make amendments that would alter the Penal Code Article 163 to include the crime of incest.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/children-youth/13282-alfela-46-of-cases-seen-are-sexual-assault-cases-of-girls-younger-than-16-years-old

Armed forces & defense

Chinese defense minister holds talks with Timor-Leste counterpart

Xinhua - October 19, 2015

China's State Councilor and Defense Minister Chang Wanquan held talks with visiting Minister of Defense of Timor-Leste Cirilo Cristovao in Beijing on Monday.

Hailing their partnership, Chang said that, guided by President Xi Jinping's ideas of "amity, sincerity, mutual benefits and inclusiveness" toward neighboring countries, China is willing to pursue an improved relationship between the two countries' armed forces.

The Chinese side is ready to push forward cooperation with Timor-Leste through visits by military delegations, personnel training and other activities, according to Chang.

Cristovao said Timor-Leste appreciates China's support and assistance, stressing that Timor-Leste is willing to strengthen military-to-military exchanges and cooperation with China.

Last weekend, Cristovao attended the sixth Xiangshan Forum, a high-profile security forum attended by about 500 defense officials and scholars from around the world.

Source: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/947867.shtml

Police & law enforcement

Fundasaun Mahein: Legal basis needed for CPC services

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2015

Venidora Oliveira – The Deputy Director of Mahein Foundation (FM), a local NGO that monitors the security and defence sector in Timor-Leste, Joao Almeida Fernandes urges the Community Police (POLKOM) Unit of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) to establish a legal framework that will serve as a guide for the Community Police Council (CPC) for operations only in the rural communities.

"They need a guideline so they know what they can do and what they should not do," said DD FM Fernandes in Dili.

DD Fernances said the CPC is charged with providing solutions for disputes taking place in the sukus, but their role needs to be defined adequate so they are aware of the types of cases they are authorised to deal with. "For example, cases of domestic violence cannot be solved by the CPC because it is a public crime and as such has to go to the courts."

Meanwhile Member of Commission B (security, defence and foreign affairs) MP Duarte Nunes said he agreed with FM's assessment and recommendation. "They need to know clearly what their duties are and have to base their activities based on the guide," added MP Nunes.

In response to the issue, the II Commander of POLKOM, Head Inspector Helena das Dores said currently the command of PNTL is in the process of establishing the guidelines for CPC. "But we intend to create the guidelines," said Commander Das Dores.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/security-defencejustice/13276-fundasaun-mahein-legal-basis-needed-for-cpc-services

Border & security issues

PTL: Country security restored after MM's death

Dili Weekly - October 7, 2015

Venidora Oliveira – The II General Command of the National Police Timor- Leste (PNTL) Commissioner Faustina da Costa said the death of Paulino Gama best known for this resistance name Mauk Moruk (MM), the nation is again safe.

The late MM and members of his group were persecuted by Joint Operation Hanita established after warrants were issued for their capture following several attacks on the national police and defence forces and on the State in 2015.

However, Commissioner Da Costa added that following MM's death in a clash with the join operations members that PNTL officers were placed across key location to ensure peace and security.

"We ramped up security at the embassies, main state offices and we also conducted patrols of the streets," said Commissioner Costa in Kaikoli, Dili.

She also assured that the peace and security has also been restored to the remote areas of the country, in particular in the East where MM and his member sought shelter with transportation from the western to the easters regions returning to normal as well

Commissioner Costa urged the community to continue to work with the security forces so that peace and security remains in the country.

The Deputy Director of Mahein Foundation (FM), a local NGO that monitor security and defence issues, Joao Almeida Fernandes urged PNTL to maintain the security across the country even though currently the situation is safe.

"The PNTL need to maintain contact with the community, talking and informing them to ensure security and so that we maintain national stability," said DD Fernandes.

Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/capital/13278-ptl-country-security-restored-after-mm-s-death

Foreign affairs & trade

Cuba and Timor-Leste strengthen cooperation ties

Prensa Latina - October 9, 2015

Havana – Cuba and Timor-Leste strengthened cooperation mainly in areas such as health, education and agriculture in the context of the official visit here of the Prime Minister of this Asian nation, Rui Maria de Araujo.

At a press conference, Maria de Araujo said that the two nations expressed interest in extending the agreement already in place in the area of health, to be signed in Dili, the Timorese capital.

He declared that the parties analyzed the possibility of establishing university hospitals in Timor-Leste, as a way to support the training of doctors, not only in that country but also in the region.

The prime minister also declared that it is in progress the analysis on how to establish cooperation relating to the biological control of vectors, such as mosquitoes that cause dengue and malaria, of high prevalence in Timor-Leste.

Moreover, Maria de Araujo highlighted the meeting between the educational authorities of both countries, which strengthened the bilateral cooperation in the area of education, he said.

In that sense, he said that Cuba will send technicians to help select candidates to be trained as future teachers, especially in subjects such as biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, psychology and pedagogy.

Also, he added, we will have the possibility to collaborate in continuing studies with the educational method "Yo si puedo seguir" (Yes, I can continue), which will give continuity to the process of learning and teaching of more than 190,000 Timorese, literate with the Cuban method "Yo si puedo" (Yes I can).

Summing up the bilateral cooperation, the prime minister expressed his deep appreciation to the government and people of Cuba for the solidarity, cooperation and brotherhood shown towards Timor-Leste in the most diverse areas.

Source: http://www.plenglish.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4236151&Itemid=1

Cuban parliament president welcomes Timor Leste's prime minister

Prensa Latina - October 8, 2015

Havana – Cuban parliament President Esteban Lazo welcomed today Timor Leste Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo, in a meeting that ratified the good state of bilateral relations between the nations.

His first official visit to Cuba has particular significance given the brotherly ties that unite the nations and it will contribute to expand the friendship and cooperation relations between them, Lazo said.

Lazo also recalled that despite the geographical distance, both countries are united by the historical struggle of their peoples for Independence and acknowledged Timor Leste's independence, achieved in 2002.

Bilateral ties are in their best moment, said Lazo as he stressed the mutual objectives in relation with increasingly promoting cooperation in all possible areas to contribute to the nationsb?V economic and social development.

He also thanked Timor Leste's support to the fight for the release of the Cuban Five – who were unjustly imprisoned in the United States and are now back in their homeland – and the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed to the island by Washington for the last fifty years.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister voiced his gratitude for all the support and solidarity extended by Cuba, even before the country's independence.

Maria de Araujo thanked the cooperation programs carried out in the country, with more than 196 thousand nationals being taught how to read and write by using the Cuban educational method "Yes, I Can", 800 doctors being trained in Cuba and more than a thousand Cuban collaborators working in different sectors, especially in health care, education and agriculture.

Source: http://www.plenglish.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4233831&Itemid=1

Timor-Leste's prime minister to pay tribute to Cuban hero

Prensa Latina - October 5, 2015

Havana – Timor-Leste's Prime Minister, Rui Maria de Araujo, will pay tribute today to Cuba"s National Hero, Jose Marti, as part of his official visit's agenda to the Caribbean island. Maria de Araujo will later hold talks with President, Raul Castro.

The visitor will tour the "Victoria de Giron" Institute for Basic and Preclinical Science tomorrow, and will visit the University of Sciences of Physical Culture and Sport, in this capital, on October 7. A meeting with Cuban Parliament President Esteban Lazo is also expected, as part of his third visit to Cuba.

Cuba and Timor-Leste established diplomatic relations on May 20, 2002, and both countries currently maintain excellent ties, which are developed at the highest level.

Timor-Leste, with an area of 5,794 square miles (15,007 square kilometers), has voted for the UN resolution against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States to the Caribbean nation.

Cooperation relations were mainly established in areas such as health, education and sports. Since the beginning of the educational cooperation in 2005, Cuba has graduated about 847 students from Timor-Leste, 842 of which in health.

Source: http://www.plenglish.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4220911&Itemid=1

Premier of East Timor pays official visit to Cuba

Cuban News Agency (CNA) - October 2, 2015

Havana – The Prime Minister of East Timor, Rui Maria De Araujo, is paying an official visit to Cuba on Friday, during which he will hold talks with President Raul Castro and will carry out other activities on his agenda.

A medical doctor, he has been health minister and Assistant Prime Minister for Social Affairs in his country. He took office as Prime Minister on February 1015.

The distinguished visitor will pay homage to Cuban National Hero Jose Marti 5 before meeting with the Cuban head of state according to his official agenda, which also includes a visit to the Institute of Basic and Pre- clinic Sciences in Havana as well as University of Physical Culture and Sports.

Rui Maria Araujo is also scheduled to meet with Cuban Parliament president Esteban Lazo.

Cuba and East Timor established diplomatic relations on May 20, 2002 and at present both countries maintain excellent links. Bilateral cooperation relations have favored the fields of health, education and sports.

At present 137 Cuban workers are offering their services in that Asian nation under the Integral Health Program, while 847 students from East Timor have graduated in Cuba, with 842 of them as medical doctors, since the cooperation program in education started in 2005.

East Timor has voted at the United Nations in favor of the Cuban Resolution demanding the lifting of the US economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba.

Source: http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/cuba/3835-premier-of-east-timor-pays-official-visit-to-cuba

Economy & investment

A stabilized East Timor creating opportunities for foreign businesses

Nikkei Asian Review - October 23, 2015

Sadachika Watanabe, Jakarta – East Timor is looking to upgrade its natural-resource and transportation infrastructure, creating new business opportunities for overseas construction companies and plant builders.

As East Timor's politics have stabilized in the 13 years since the country gained independence, foreign companies are seeking to cash in. But as the country takes a tougher line on oil and gas development, and looks to create more jobs, investors are treading a careful line.

In Suai, a city on East Timor's southern shore, construction of a 3.3km seawall and an onshore facility for maritime resources development has recently begun for the Suai Supply Base project. Two Hyundai group companies, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hyundai Engineering, won the bid for the roughly $720 million project. It is scheduled for completion in September 2018.

The East Timor government has designated Suai as a key development zone in the country's south under the Tasi Mane projects. There are rich offshore deposits of oil and gas off the coast of Suai. As part of these projects, the government plans to build a 155kilometer highway connecting Suai to Betano and Beaco, two cities to the east. The projects are designed to create an industrial zone centering on oil and gas processing by 2030.

Crude future

Timor Gap, E.P., a state-owned oil company, is in charge of the Tasi Mane projects. The company's president and CEO, Francisco Monteiro, said that the projects cannot be completed overnight and that the company is carefully laying the groundwork.

Construction of an airport began in Suai in May 2014. The facility is designed to handle helicopters and small airplanes with a capacity of up to 50 passengers. Indonesian state-run construction company Waskita Karya Tbk received the contract for the airport, which is worth $76 million.

In Betano, meanwhile, TTCL – a joint venture between Japan's Toyo Engineering and Development Public, an Italian-Thai company – has already completed the basic design work for a $2 million oil refinery. Timor Gap is conducting an environmental impact assessment and hopes to finalize an investment decision next year, said Monteiro.

There is another plan to build a liquefied natural gas production base in Beaco, east of Betano, along the southern shore. At the end of May, Amec Foster Wheeler, a U.K. plant builder, was awarded a contract from Timor Gap to do initial design work worth $3.8 million. Amec is also responsible for devising the project's procedures and coming up with the cost estimates needed to determine the project's profitability.

East Timor has set up a petroleum fund using royalties from oil and gas extraction in the East Timor-Australia joint development area in the Timor Sea. The fund was estimated at nearly $17 billion at the start of 2015; the money it generates covers 80-90% of the government's annual budget, which in 2014 was set at $1.7 billion.

Outside help

Outside of oil and gas, coffee-growing is one of the few job-creating sectors of the economy. East Timor's per capita gross domestic product, including oil revenue, bobs around $4,000, higher than that of Indonesia and other neighboring countries. Even so, East Timorese living standards remain low.

Analysts believe falling crude oil prices have cut into the petroleum fund. The government has a pressing need to increase employment and foster new industries. While it aims to attract overseas manufacturers, it is also focusing on raising the added value of its natural resource industry by processing its gas and oil. The Tasi Mane projects are designed to do that.

At the same time, the authorities are taking a tougher line on oil and gas concessions. The Beaco LNG project is predicated on the cancellation of another effort, called Greater Sunrise. Japanese and Australian companies have invested heavily in that project, and had been planning to build an offshore plant as part of it.

With East Timor and Australia embroiled in a maritime border dispute, foreign companies are watching East Timor's resource policy carefully. The authorities oppose the offshore plant project because they believe an onshore facility would bring greater benefits to local oil and gas refiners, and generate more employment.

The country is now carrying out assessments for port facilities and pipelines, said an executive with Timor Gap.

Source: http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trends/A-stabilized-East-Timor-creating-opportunities-for-foreign-businesses

Balibo five

Timor-Leste: Balibo remembers 40 years on

Pacific Media Centre - October 17, 2015

Balibo, Timor-Leste – The people of Balibo in Timor-Leste marked Friday's 40th anniversary of the killing of Australian-based journalists by invading Indonesian soldiers with a quiet gathering outside the house where television reporter Greg Shackleton painted the Australian flag.

It is now a memorial to him and fellow journalist Malcolm Rennie, cameramen Gary Cunningham (from New Zealand) and Brian Peters, and sound recordist Tony Stewart.

A sixth journalist, Roger East, was killed in Dili on December 8, 1975. Their killers have never been brought to justice.

On Friday night, the children came forward and lit an arc of candles in the sand around the house, before going to an outdoor screening of the film Balibo on the basketball court.

Also in the town on Friday was a group of men who had walked there from the capital of Dili; stopping at villages throughout the five-day journey to retell the story to locals.

One of the participants in the "walk against impunity", Sisto dos Santos, said it was not only the journalists' story, but the town's story, and important that it was passed to the children.

'Entrusting younger generation'

"Let them know the reality of what happened in the past," he said. "We entrust the younger generation. We believe in them to continue the struggle for truth and justice. This is the testimony of Indonesian involvement in crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste."

The families of the Balibo Five say they never got a satisfactory explanation for the Australian Federal Police closing their investigation for war crimes last year.

At a dawn ceremony in Canberra on Friday, they argued that 40 years of Australian government silence had given the killers impunity.

An Indonesian foreign affairs spokesman this week maintained the five men died in accidental circumstances, and said the matter was closed. (The Australian/AAP/Pacific Media Watch)

Source: http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/timor-leste-balibo-remembers-40-years-9495

Balibo Five families want AFP to re-open case on 40th anniversary

WA Today - October 16, 2015

Molly Schmidt – A son of one of the five Australian-based journalists killed in Balibo, East Timor, has asked the Australian Federal Police to re-investigate the case – on the day 40th anniversary commemorations were held to mark their deaths.

John Milkins, son of Channel 7 cameraman Gary Cunningham, who was among the Balibo Five, called on the AFP on Friday to reopen the investigations into the deaths of the young men.

"There are still untold stories," he said. "The issue is, of course, our government doesn't want them to be told. They were deliberately targeted, shot, stabbed, and their bodies were burnt."

The Balibo Five were killed in East Timor during Indonesian incursion in 1975 but had believed, as journalists, that Indonesian soldiers would not target them.

At the time, the Indonesian military is alleged to have been conducting a covert military campaign in the border regions of East Timor. It publicly denied that it was involved in those operations, but it is believed it privately gave details of the campaign to Australian diplomats.

The strategy reportedly depended on the Indonesian military's involvement remaining hidden and if the journalists, who were in the border town of Balibo, had obtained film footage of the operations and conveyed it to the outside world, the covert military operation would have been exposed.

Indonesian troops seized Balibo and killed the journalists soon after. Another Australian journalist, Roger East, was killed six weeks later.

The official Indonesian version of events said the men were shot in cross fire, and the Australian government has not challenged this. In 2007, an Australian coroner ruled Indonesian special force soldiers had intentionally killed the Balibo Five.

Paulie Stewart, the brother of the youngest of the Balibo Five – sound recordist Tony Stewart – said the families were still left with more questions than answers.

"We've waited 40 years for this," Mr Stewart said. "Action is what we want. They actually know who is responsible and nothing has been done since."

Mr Milkins said he believed the AFP had already rejected his request for a re-opening of the case. "I read in a statement by the AFP that they have no further evidence. That's because they're not trying to get any further evidence," he said.

Mr Stewart said it did not surprise him that the request was not successful. "I have no respect at all for the Australian Federal Police and how they've dealt with my family over this issue," he said.

Mr Milkins, who was five years old when his father was killed, was adopted as a baby and didn't know of his connection to the Balibo Five until he met his birth mother when he was 19.

"My birth mum told me my father was one of the Balibo Five and six weeks beforehand I'd just been studying it in a uni course," he said. "It was very hard to go into the library at university and read incredibly graphic newspaper reports about what had happened to them."

The AFP said they "sympathised with the families of the Balibo Five as they commemorated the 40th anniversary of the deaths of their loved ones". But a spokesperson for the AFP said they had not received any new evidence to warrant reopening the investigation.

The five young men, employed by Channels 7 and 9, were Gary Cunningham, Brian Peters, Malcolm Rennie, Greg Shackleton and Anthony Stewart. The commemorations, held in Canberra on Friday morning, were led by Shirley Shackleton, the wife of Channel 7 reporter Greg Shackleton.

Source: http://www.watoday.com.au/national/balibo-five-families-want-afp-to-reopen-case-on-40th-anniversary-20151016-gkb372.html

Quest for Balibo truth spans 40 years

Australian Associated Press - October 15, 2015

"The truth is never too young to be told, nor too old." So said Coroner Dorelle Pinch as she summed up the 2007 inquest into the deaths of the Balibo Five in East Timor.

The truth is now 40 years old, and the men's families are still chasing it.

The NSW inquest found television reporters Greg Shackleton and Malcolm Rennie, cameramen Gary Cunningham and Brian Peters, and sound recordist Tony Stewart, were shot or stabbed by Indonesian troops on October 16, 1975, to prevent news of the invasion getting out.

The Australian Federal Police war crimes investigation the coroner recommended was wound up last year.

Meanwhile in Indonesia – where authorities have always maintained the five were caught in crossfire – two men linked to the matter persist in public life.

Shirley Shackleton, Greg's widow, says she still wants the AFP to explain fully why it shelved the case, and who and what was examined for five years. For her, the matter is far from closed.

"I don't mind doing an impossible thing and losing, but I'm not doing it without a fight," she told AAP.

Cunningham's son John Milkins agrees that whether it's the 40th anniversary or the 50th, the principle remains the same. "There no doubt in our mind that war crimes occurred and we will keep pursuing that," he says.

"And because many of the Timorese that we speak to believe that if there is some justice for our relatives, perhaps there's some justice for their lost family members as well."

In the UK, the families of Britons Rennie and Peters are still lobbying their government to get involved.

Rennie's cousin Sue Spence, who was one of the last relatives to see the journalist alive, says the UK Foreign Office has dodged the issue since 1975. "I understand it will be politically difficult, but a lot of things that matter are," she argues.

Mrs Spence has visited Balibo, and like all the families, feels a connection with East Timor and cares deeply about its development.

All are linked through the Balibo House Trust, which restored the famous Australia Flag House and supports a range of community activities, including a kindergarten.

Meanwhile Melbourne musician Paulie Stewart, Tony's brother, was there last month, touring with rappers Flybz, who were once child soldiers in Africa. Stewart says it's important to appreciate the good things that have come from the tragedy.

"I did lose one brother, but I've sort of gained 200,000 East Timorese brothers," he says. "There's lots of people who I know and love now in Timor, and that never would've happened if Tony hadn't gone up there."

The 2007 inquest named Yunus Yosfiah as the Indonesian field commander who gave the order to kill the five journalists. He is now adviser to Gerindra, the political party of Prabowo Subianto, who was President Joko Widodo's opponent in last year's election.

Former general Sutiyoso, who refused to attend the inquest to be questioned about his service in East Timor, was this year appointed as chief of Indonesia's spy agency, BIN.

Source: http://www.9news.com.au/world/2015/10/15/15/58/quest-for-balibo-truth-spans-40-years

We can't forget the lessons of Balibo

WA Today - October 15, 2015

Nick Xenophon and Clinton Fernandes – Forty years ago on Friday, five young men met their deaths in a small corner of a foreign field.

Gary Cunningham, Brian Peters, Malcolm Rennie, Greg Shackleton, and Anthony Stewart were journalists employed by Channels 7 and 9. They were murdered in cold blood by the Indonesian military on the morning of October 16, 1975, at Balibo, in what was then Portuguese Timor and is today East Timor.

A dawn service is being held in their memory on Friday at the War Correspondents Memorial, in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial.

Why do their deaths matter now? The answer is that their fate holds poignant and instructive lessons for us today. At the time, the Indonesian military was conducting a covert military campaign in the border regions of East Timor. It publicly denied that it was involved in those operations, but privately gave details of the campaign to Australian diplomats.

The strategy depended on the Indonesian military's involvement remaining hidden. If the journalists, who were in the border town of Balibo, had obtained film footage of the operations and conveyed it to the outside world, the covert military operation would have been exposed. Indonesian troops seized Balibo and killed the journalists soon after. They executed another Australian journalist, Roger East, six weeks later.

Australian diplomats, now thoroughly compromised by the secret briefings, went along with the charade. They protected the Indonesian military from the consequences of its actions. They said their "immediate diplomatic problem and task" was "to do what we can to reduce the pressure on the Indonesians".

Successive governments acted to shield the Indonesian military from criticism in Australia. Under prime minister Malcolm Fraser, Australia became the only Western country to give legal recognition to the Indonesian annexation.

After a particularly shocking massacre in late 1991, then foreign minister Gareth Evans ordered the removal of more than 100 wooden crosses – placed as a sign of mourning – from the lawn in front of the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra.

The Keating government ensured that Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas received the award of the Order of Australia in 1995. Not to be outdone, Tim Fischer, deputy prime minister in the Howard government, said that Indonesian president Suharto was "perhaps the world's greatest figure in the latter half of the 20th century".

Declassified Australian intelligence records show that the Indonesian high command was very alarmed about the international diplomatic consequences of killing the Balibo Five, and called a halt to its military operations for five weeks. But there was no protest from Australia. The Indonesian military took this as a "green light"; they realised they could treat the East Timorese as they wished. And that is what they did. The consequences for the East Timorese people were horrific. They died in large numbers, often in appalling ways.

University of California, Berkeley, demographer Sarah Staveteig estimates that 204,000 East Timorese died during the Indonesian occupation. With a pre-invasion population of 648,000, that's nearly one in three.

The great irony today is that, 40 years on, Indonesia has made a stunning transition to a robust democracy with a free press, while East Timor has recently passed laws muzzling journalists.

We remember the Balibo Five today not because journalists are any more special than other civilians, but because journalists play a crucial role in bringing information about human rights violations to the outside world. As the Czech writer Milan Kundera wrote: "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting."

[Nick Xenophon is an independent Senator for South Australia. Clinton Fernandes is an academic at University of NSW.]

Source: http://www.watoday.com.au/comment/we-can8217t-forget-the-lessons-of-balibo-20151015-gk8jb3.html

Balibo film still resonates, 40 year on

Melbourne Age - October 15, 2015

Angelo Risso – Barely a week goes by without Tony Maniaty thinking about Balibo.

Maniaty, an up-and-coming ABC journalist, travelled with a film crew to the East Timorese border town in October 1975, just as the Portuguese colony was about to be overrun by Indonesia.

Shelled and shot upon by Indonesian forces, the ABC team retreated with the pro-independence Fretilin group towards the capital of Dili.

In the opposite direction sped a Channel Seven news crew of Australians Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart and New Zealander Gary Cunningham, looking for the big story. They were followed some days later by Channel Nine journalists and Britons Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters.

Crossing paths, Maniaty unsuccessfully warned both crews to turn back. It was the last he saw of them.

Friday October 16 marks the 40th anniversary of the deaths of the 'Balibo Five', who were shot by Indonesian military forces as they reported on the East Timorese bloodshed.

Indonesia maintains the Five were killed in crossfire, despite a 2007 NSW Coroner's Inquest finding the journalists were murdered by Indonesian forces in what constituted a war crime.

Maniaty stayed to report on the deaths from Dili. It was the most harrowing period of his life. "The longer I stayed, the more likely I too would be killed. We assumed the clock was ticking," the 66-year-old told AAP.

"It was a very dangerous game, to stay as long as you could to report on the suffering and conflict in East Timor but also to stay alive. In many ways it remains the defining event of my adult life."

Maniaty returned to Balibo in 2008 as a consultant for the film 'Balibo' about the investigation into the murders by Australian journalist Roger East, working for AAP, and East's ultimate death in Dili at the hands of the Indonesian military on December 8, 1975.

The film, starring Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia, will be shown in various locations across Australia and East Timor on Friday with proceeds to go towards building a Balibo dental clinic.

Film director Robert Connolly, 47, was the man tasked with re-telling the Balibo history to a modern audience and didn't take his role lightly.

"We tried to be as forensic as possible about their murder for history's sake. You definitely feel that responsibility to get these things right," Connolly said.

"We did know it would become for a lot of people a historical document. I think it managed to put a lot of things on the record in a way that was quite commercially available."

Connolly said the murders ultimately helped maintain interest in the East Timorese story on Australian shores. "The clearest observation I have of the murders was that it kept the story of East Timor alive in Australian consciousness, for those many years when terrible things were happening," he said.

Maniaty agrees. "This was a very small place. At the time there were only 400,000 people in East Timor," Maniaty said.

"To be blunt about it, the deaths of Australian journalists brought media focus onto that story in a way that perhaps wouldn't have been so intense, and that of course had its outcome in the eventual independence of the East Timorese."

Source: http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/balibo-film-still-resonates-40-year-on-20151015-44k4b.html

Analysis & opinion

The case for Timor Leste's membership of ASEAN

Jakarta Post - October 11, 2015

A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi, Jakarta – Four years on since Timor Leste formally applied to become a member-state of ASEAN, the dream of uniting all Southeast Asian nation-states under the ASEAN umbrella has yet to materialize.

The fact that Timor Leste continues to be the notable exception to ASEAN's list of membership was recently highlighted following the official visit of Timorese Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo to Indonesia recently.

On the sidelines of the visit, which included a stop at the ASEAN Secretariat, it was revealed that Timor Leste would be granted observer status at the 27th ASEAN Summit later this year. While observer status falls short of full membership, it is perhaps the best Dili can expect for now given the challenges it still faces.

It is commonly thought that it is the burden of Timor Leste to prove its assets to the regional organization. Indeed, Timor Leste's application has intrigued, fascinated and divided the many stakeholders involved with ASEAN. Why is it important for Timor Leste to join ASEAN?

Arguably the answer is two fold. On the one hand ASEAN membership will clearly afford benefits to Timor Leste. After its traumatic struggle for independence and initial painful years of nationhood, membership provides a key chance for national reconciliation.

Indeed Dili stated that it "views membership in ASEAN as an integral part of our national efforts in peace consolidation." Timor Leste stands to benefit from an ASEAN economy valued at approximately US$1.5 trillion and a customer base of 600 million people.

In the short to medium-term, membership would provide key access to funds for national development through programs like the Initiative for ASEAN Integration aimed at narrowing the development gap between ASEAN member- states.

Lastly it will enable Timor Leste to have a greater and stronger presence on the international stage by virtue of joining a 10 member-state strong association that after the Bali Concord III of 2011 seeks a "more coordinated, cohesive, and coherent ASEAN position on global issues of common interest and concern." Timor Leste would thus benefit from having its national interests and concerns protected under the ASEAN umbrella.

On the other hand, a more intriguing discussion concerns the benefits Timor Leste's admittance affords to ASEAN itself. It is commonly thought that it is the burden of Timor Leste to prove its assets to the regional organization. However such an argument ignores the potential contribution of Timor Leste to the ASEAN regional integration project. For example, its sovereign wealth fund (largely derived from its petroleum resources) is estimated to reach over $20 billion in the next decade.

Failing to admit and assist Timor Leste, ASEAN may reveal itself as being incapable of solving problems in its "own backyard" given that the former is geographically, historically and culturally a part of Southeast Asia.

From a strategic and security point of view, it does not make sense to leave Timor Leste outside of the ASEAN family. To do so risks the development of Timorese norms and standards inconsistent with those of ASEAN's that may threaten, however small, the crucial regional peace and security that has enabled ASEAN to prosper.

Indeed it has been suggested that Timor Leste's long-term interests lie with other regional powers. Such a suggestion will surely worry ASEAN and is reminiscent of the argument made in favor of opening ASEAN membership to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, the CLMV countries, to counter the potential dominance of non-ASEAN actors in the region. For example, a number of government buildings in Dili including the Presidential Palace and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been constructed and funded by China as a "gift".

Failure to admit Timor Leste therefore risks ASEAN's centrality and relevance in the regional architecture of the Asia-Pacific in the 21st century. In the face of China and India's rise as well as the United States greater interest in the region, this is something ASEAN simply cannot afford to lose.

Significant obstacles indeed remain and understandable opposition exists toward allowing Timor Leste to join ASEAN. Nevertheless the case in favor of Timor Leste's membership of ASEAN is clear.

As such it is very much hoped that the outcome of ASEAN's ongoing assessment of Dili's application will one day lead to the people of Timor Leste joining hands with neighbors in the Southeast Asian region as fellow ASEAN citizens.

[The writer is head of the ASEAN Studies Program, The Habibie Center in Jakarta. The views expressed are his own.]

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/11/the-case-timor-leste-s-membership-asean.html

Timor-Leste, hiding in plain sight on the world map

Washington Times - October 7, 2015

Rui Maria de Araujo – Most people will not have even heard of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, let alone be able to point out where it is on the world map.

Timor-Leste, the nation whose government I lead, is a half-island nation- state in Southeast Asia. Our closest neighbors are Indonesia to our north and west, and Australia, to the south, across the Timor Sea.

Thanks to the resilience of our people, and our friends around the world, Timor-Leste has been on the world map since we became the 191st member- state of the United Nations in 2002.

But while our land borders are defined, we still do not have maritime borders. We have not yet achieved full sovereignty.

Like Americans, the Timorese are a very proud people, patriotic in every sense. Like the United States, we were colonized and fought fiercely for our independence. Ours came at the end of close to 500 years of Portuguese rule, followed by a 24-year long occupation by Indonesia.

Now that we are an independent state, there is much we can learn from nations such as the United States. We, too, will not allow our sovereignty to be challenged. Freedom and independence came at a very high price for us. We lost hundreds of thousands of lives during our struggle for independence against foreign occupation.

Creating the architecture of an independent and fully sovereign nation- state has not been easy. We had to start from scratch and establish a system of parliamentary and semi-presidential democracy, a civil service, a justice system and social services from the ashes of war.

We had to look after our veterans, our elderly and provide a stable environment for our burgeoning young population – over 61 percent of our population is under 25 years of age. Now, 13 years since independence, we are a peaceful, open society.

We have achieved average economic growth rates of around 10 percent over the last eight years, and developed a highly transparent and accountable public financial management system, and have one of the highest representations of women in parliament in the world.

We are now ready to conclude our struggle for sovereignty by negotiating maritime boundaries with Indonesia and Australia.

World attention is focused on the dispute in the South China Sea, but regrettably, there is an equally drawn-out dispute about sovereignty in the Timor Sea – a 435-mile-wide, oil-rich stretch of water that separates Timor-Leste and Indonesia from the northern coast of Australia.

Timor-Leste shares an island with Indonesia and both nations have devoted considerable time and energy to finalizing our land borders, which are 98 percent settled. In August, Indonesia President Joko Widodo and I agreed to commence negotiations to finalize the maritime boundaries we share north of Timor and in the south in the Timor Sea.

However, the Australian government has so far not agreed to negotiate maritime boundaries with Timor-Leste.

This is despite the fact that Australia has successfully negotiated maritime boundaries with all its other neighbours, based on equidistance principles in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and international law.

The Timorese and the Australian people are bound by loyalty and friendship dating back to when we fought together against a common enemy during the Second World War. Nevertheless, successive Australian governments since 2002 have let the Timorese down when it comes to acknowledging Timor- Leste's sovereignty in the Timor Sea.

We were very disappointed when in March 2002, on the eve of Timor-Leste's independence becoming internationally recognized, Australia withdrew from the maritime jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

This has meant we have been unable to ask an international court to decide where an equitable boundary would lie under international law in the Timor Sea between Timor-Leste and Australia.

Timor-Leste still only has "temporary resource sharing" agreements, known as the Timor Sea treaties, that divide revenue from the exploitation of oil and gas resources on Timor-Leste's side of the median line in the Timor Sea between Australia and Timor-Leste.

The Timor Sea treaties are, of course, vexed, and the Timorese government has triggered arbitration clauses in the treaties over allegations Australia spied on us during treaty negotiations in 2004.

Australia has bilaterally negotiated maritime boundaries with all its other maritime neighbors, with the only exception being Timor-Leste. What we are asking is simple. We want to settle our maritime boundary with Australia in accordance with international law.

We are hopeful that under the leadership of the new prime minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, we will be able to engage in constructive and fair negotiations so that we can close the maritime boundary gap between our nations.

Then, even if someone does not know where Timor-Leste is, she or he will at least be able to find us in the world map as a fully sovereign nation with permanently defined land and maritime boundaries.

[Rui Maria de Araujo is prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.]

Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/7/rui-maria-de-araujo-timor-leste-hiding-in-plain-si/?page=2