Report from kuala Lumpar

by Tony Wed May 31, 2006 13:01

First thing that occurs to me to mention is the name of the country - Timor Leste.
Why is that significant? Because the name is Portuguese, the language of the previous imperialist power. and now the official language -despite (or because of) the fact that many, perhaps most East Timorese don't speak it!
Many of them speak Bahasa Indonesia, but it's understandable that they would not want that to be the official language. However the main language is Tetum.
So why Portugese? Part of the answer is that it is the language of the elite. It therefore places many people, in this desperately poor country, at a severe disadvantage.
Fretlin, the goverment party, is also the party which bore the brunt of the resistance struggle, and Alkitiri has overwhelming support in it, though he himself spent the years of the occupation in either Mozambique or Angola (can't remember which) - and there's another part of the answer to "why the Portuguese language?". Alkitiri is supported by Portugal, which hasn't given up hopes of getting its
hands on the oil wealth.
So there is an element of inter-imperialist struggle as well, although there's no doubt that Australia is the main danger.
And as is often the case in guerilla struggles, there is also a conflict between the fighters (Fretilin) and the "ambassadors" - especially Jose Ramos Horta.

Reasonable article by Tim Anderson here.
http://sydney.indymedia.org/node/37157

By the way, John Howard regards himself as Bush's Pacific/Oceania "deputy", so although it's clearly a case of Australian imperialism, Australia is also a sub-imperialism of the USA.
The invasion coincided with a writers' festival in Sydney, attended by several Timorese authors, who were quite open and clear about the motives for the Australian action.
This is not an analogy to be taken too far, but it's worth remembering the "invitation" by the Stalinist government of Hungary for the USSR to invade.
Europeans may not be aware that perhaps one third of the East Timorese population were wiped out during the Indonesian occupation, which, ironically, was "invited" by the East Timorese party which lost the first elections after the withdrawal of Portugal.
There's also another complication, in that there is an independence struggle going on in West Papua against thge Indonesian government, and the Howard government has rejigged the law to allow it to turn back refugees, and has declared that West Papua is "part" of Indonesia.

by pat c Wed May 31, 2006 12:08

thanks for the info & analysis. if you have links to any reports or analysis by left groups in the region then please post them.

by Tony Wed May 31, 2006 12:04

Just a few notes on the politics of the invasion, because invasion it is.
The Australian government claims East Timor has been badly governed (if that were enough to make a country a candidate for invasion, then foreign tropps would be occupying Australia). In fact the Aus Gov regards Timor as its client state, and used its power to make sure that the East Timor government was cheated over its oil reserves in the Timor Sea.
Yes, it's more blood for oil.
In addition, East Timor is strategically important for Australian imperialism. A mini-imperialism, it's true, but one with ambition to control this region. Note that Australian forces have also moved into the Solomon Islands, and arrested two GOVERNMENT MPs, and demanded a verto on who can be ministers. They try to place a similar role in Fiji, and continue to dominate Papua New Guinea (which was an Australian colony till the 1970s
It is true Xanana Gusmao is respected, but it seems likely that Prime Minister Alkitiri has mass support, and is less willing to be a dupe of the Aus gov. Hence the coup by Gusmao.
The army is split top to bottom, with roughly a third of troops sacked recently, with suggestions of regional bias.
The police force has many members who were in the police force of the Indonesian occupation.
Certainly there has been some settling of old scores, but this is part of the chaos seen in every popular struggle.
It's worth noting that Jose Ramos Horta, the foreign minister, is a strong supporter of the Iraq war.
It's also worth pointing out that during the previous Australian intervention, the Australian forces, journalists, and assorted hangers on live in luxury on ships, while the population starved and suffered.
The left must be unequivocally against the occupation.

by pat c Tue May 30, 2006 14:08

Latest from BBC
Last Updated: Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 11:41 GMT 12:41 UK

Emergency rule for E Timor leader

A number of houses in Dili have been ransacked and set on fire
East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao is to assume emergency powers to try to defuse mounting looting and unrest.
Mr Gusmao, a highly respected former guerrilla leader, said he would take over national security and defence.

This would give him control over the army and police, which have been split by internal disputes and gang violence.

His announcement came after fresh looting hit the capital, Dili, despite the presence on the streets of an Australian-led peacekeeping force.

Mr Gusmao said the decision to impose emergency rule, which would last 30 days, had been taken in "close collaboration" with Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Full story at:

by c murray - The Unmanageables Tue May 30, 2006 13:42

"Malaysia has sent in the army and fighter jets. Timor on the verge of civil war"