We liberated the country... ...now we liberate the people of East Timor

News

Fretilin’s Arrogance Toward the Australian Contribution Continues

Dili – 20th June 2007

This week Fretilin displayed its continued attitude of arrogance toward Australia after they publicly dismissed the views captured by the Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, who vocalized his concerns at Fretilin’s continued plan to arm the East Timorese military. The real concerns center around the fact that the country underwent a national crisis last year, with over one tenth of the population still displaced, extreme poverty widespread, and despite five years of foreign aid and a substantial budget allocation to rebuild fragile public institutions, the country went backwards, both financially and socially, due to the poor governance of the majority Fretilin Government. The Fretilin dominated parliament stood silently by, despite a vocal and concerned opposition.

CNRT spokesperson Dionisio Babo Soares stated, “In 2006 the Fretilin leadership endorsed the wholesale sacking of 591 soldiers, which was the catalyst for the worst violence seen since independence, and then went on to arm civilians, through Government and Fretilin’s Minister for the Interior, also the Vice President of Fretilin. The Prime Minister relied on the ‘internal security act’ to defend his actions, an act that gives no such power to the Prime Minister or any one else. They then wrote to the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, and asked for peacekeeping intervention by Australian Troops.

“Australia has made a substantial financial investment into the country by supporting troops here to help East Timor re-establish the law and order destroyed by the Fretilin Government and Parliamentary majority. It is understandable that Australia is concerned with the Fretilin attitude, that despite their history of poor governance and their inability to control both the police and the armed forces of East Timor, they are intent on arming rather than restructuring. The Fretilin government has learned nothing from their mistakes, and understandably, this is of prime concern to our neighbors, but more importantly of concern to every Timorese citizen.

“Why are the Australian troops here? Because the leadership of the country, Fretilin, failed to control law and order and we faced the threat of civil unrest, there is no one to blame other than them. We would not be having this forum of debate had there been some level of reform and control of the armed services by the Fretilin Government. I am dismayed and saddened by their lack of acknowledgement of their responsibility, it borders on arrogant, and reflects the ‘right to rule’ mentality that Fretilin’s Secretary General has declared publicly is Fretilin’s, and Fretilin’s alone.  This is of obvious vocal concern to all friends of our nation.

“CNRT, with the leadership of Xanana Gusmao, acknowledges the need for sweeping reform to re-establish the stability of our four sovereign pillars of government. We call for total reconstruction of the current climate to avoid recurrences of the political and law and order crisis of 2006. We call for continued co-operation with all neighbors and the international community, led by the United Nations in Timor-Leste, who can provide advice and counsel in the rebuilding of our state. This simply signifies a progressive and modern governance mentality, it is how we strengthen our state and our sovereignty, so that the world’s newest nation can continue to progress into an intelligent democracy.

“The Fretilin leadership shows no capacity to become a global player, preferring to become isolationists, when politically convenient. This incident is just another example of the ‘one party’ system they have promoted over the last five years. Our people will no longer tolerate such ineptitude and poor representation by their leaders.”

ENDS.

For Further Information
CNRT Media Contact
T: +670 735 8696
E: info@cnrt-Timor.org
W: www.cnrt-timor.org

 

Latest news

Archive