East Timor in Strife Again

**Papewaio** · 05-25-2006, 02:02

THE UN Security Council today appealed for an end to the fighting between government troops and rebel soldiers in East Timor and welcomed international offers of security assistance to the Dili Government.

A statement read by Congolese ambassador Basile Ikouebe, the president of the council for May, said the 15-member body "expressed deep concern over the deteriorating situation in Timor-Leste (East Timor) and the resulting casualties".
Fighting broke out early yesterday at Taci-Tolu, on the outskirts of the Timorese capital Dili, home to a military base. There were also deadly clashes on Tuesday between loyal and renegade soldiers.

The Security Council appealed to all parties to put an end to the violence and participate in the democratic process, respecting human rights and refrain from intimidation.

Council members took note of a letter, dated May 24 and sent to UN chief Kofi Annan, by Timorese leaders requesting assistance – defence and security forces - from Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

Tensions in East Timor have been escalating since about 600 soldiers, out of a total of 1400, were sacked in March when they deserted their barracks after complaining of regional discrimination in promotions.

At the end of April a rally in support of the soldiers in Dili turned into a riot after security forces opened fire on the crowd, sparking clashes that left five people dead.

East Timor, a Portuguese colony and then an Indonesian province from 1975 to 1999, became independent in 2002 after three years of UN stewardship.

The first of Australia's 1300 troops committed to restoring order in strife-torn East Timor will arrive today after Canberra received an urgent request for help.

East Timor could potentially face a coup or worse a civil war as this has escalted out of 600 troops being dismissed from service in East Timor along ethnic lines.

**makkyo** · 05-25-2006, 03:16

Timor is it's own country? How about that...

*looks up on map*
Ok. Now I know what we're talking about

Doesn't sound good for the Timorians. Completely free for only a year and they're already set for civil war.

BHCWarman88 · 05-25-2006, 03:25

that not good..they should work out a deal of some sort..

**Duke of Gloucester** · 05-25-2006, 06:26

Originally Posted by Papewaio

East Timor could potentially face a coup or worse a civil war as this has escalted out of 600 troops being dismissed from service in East Timor along ethnic lines.

My reading of the situation is that it is caused by problems in integrating the various rebel groups into a conventional army. What makes you think it is ethnic in origin?

**Papewaio** · 05-25-2006, 07:12

Rebels 'may welcome intervention'

In 2001, the ADF began training the East Timor Defence Force so the new nation could take responsibility for its own security.

Mr Downer said some of the rebels would have been trained by the ADF.

"I don't know if they are the best or slightly short of the best," he said.

"But the fact is that what has happened is that there has been a dispute within the East Timor Defence Force which seemingly is based on geography - some from the east and some from the west - of what is frankly a pretty small country.

"The dispute has boiled to there being allegations of discrimination against some of the soldiers in terms of pay promotions and conditions.

"These are soldiers who have been sacked - they will know how to fight."

It would seem to be ethnically based, I doubt it would be a simple geographic difference in so small a landmass.

**Tribesman** · 05-25-2006, 11:58

It would seem to be ethnically based
Possibly , as there is quite a diverse ethnic population Pape , but you must consider the problems with forming the government , police and military .
Many of the senior figures spent decades in exile , that creates a large gap between the new leaders and those that stayed under the occupation .
In changing the existing terrorists into the regular police and army you come across a bit of a problem , a capable and respected guerilla leader may not make a good police or army commander due to them being very different jobs , wheras a useless terrorist who did practically nothing during the occupation might make a great police comander due to his leval of education and orgnisational abilities .
The promotion of a marginal terrorist and the sidelining of an influential terrorist causes friction with those who support the influential terrorist .
The bad state of the economy and the slowness in getting the "veterans" support programs up and running is a major problem , an out of work ex-terrorist can very easily become a terrorist again .

I doubt it would be a simple geographic difference in so small a landmass.
The thing there is that there is a major geographical difference in the small land mass . Ignoring the islands (as that isn't really much of a difference) , you have the Western region , which is entirely seperated from the rest of the nation , small enclaves seperated from the rest of the state are nearly always a big problem .

**Papewaio** · 05-26-2006, 00:23

I agree in whole with your first point. I think there is a phrase that sums it up "Who will save you from your saviour?" once liberated are those who liberated the best people to put in charge? After all Washington was given the chance to be King, he declined.

Originally Posted by Tribesman

I doubt it would be a simple geographic difference in so small a landmass.
The thing there is that there is a major geographical difference in the small land mass . Ignoring the islands (as that isn't really much of a difference) , you have the Western region , which is entirely seperated from the rest of the nation , small enclaves seperated from the rest of the state are nearly always a big problem .

I admit it was based on my biased view of geographical sizes. There is another saying "the tyranny of distance" which makes it difficult for a nation as large as Australia hard to commute and communicate across its length and breadth.

So I should really have evaluated the situation on the speed/bandwidth/homogenity of communications and the monetary aspects of the situation. East Timor is a poor country, and while wealth may not solve some problems it can head off quite a few (clean water, food and the ability to run a government).

**Tribesman** · 05-26-2006, 00:59

East Timor is a poor country, and while wealth may not solve some problems it can head off quite a few (clean water, food and the ability to run a government).
Talking of wealth Pape , there have been some problems there .
E.timor is having problems with the petroleum fund , and while the negotiations have resulted in a 50-50 share between Australia and E Timor rather than the original 82-18% share in favour of Australia , it has come at a very high price , it only covers the resources in undisputed areas . Timor is claiming soveriegnty based on distance to shore , Australia is claiming soveriegnty based on distance from the continental shelf .
The price Dili had to pay to get 50% of the revenues from the undisputed waters was postponement of any resolution on the disputed claims until 2055 .
Considering that many of the fields in the disputed areas have an expected production life of 20-30 years its a pretty bad deal for Dili .
But then again , they knew that Australian help in gaining independance would come at a hefty price .

**Papewaio** · 05-26-2006, 01:53

Yeap and it is one of the disputes in Australia. It should be based on international waters and if in doubt it should favour East Timor.

**Tribesman** · 05-26-2006, 08:12

It should be based on international waters and if in doubt it should favour East Timor.
But another problem there would be the ...how can I put it ..."entrenched position"

regarding the oil fields .