News Update

Australian foreign aid to East Timor 'wasted'

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Updated July 29, 2009 12:06:01

The spotlight is again on foreign aid from Australia after comments by East Timor's president Jose Ramos Horta that foreign aid was being spent on East Timor but not in East Timor.

It was only in April that the Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd made similar claims about aid to Papua New Guinea, saying too much Australian aid was being spent on consultants' fees.

Presenter: Claudette Werden
Speakers: Dr Jose Ramos Horta, East Timorese president; Dr Tim Anderson, AID/WATCH, Australia; Mark Purcell, The Australian Council for International Development; Paul Barker, Institute of National Affairs (independent think tank), Papua New Guinea

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WERDEN: East Timor's president Jose Ramos Horta is urging western countries, including Australia, to review foreign aid policies, because he claims that the A$3 billion that have been pledged to East Timor since independence have never made it to the people or been used to relieve poverty.

HORTA: Where they spent a lot of it, they claim to have spent on training, capacity building schemes. Yes, we needed that and there has been some positive use to that, but if that money was really used for capacity building in a proper way, every Timorese would have a PHD by now.

WERDEN: The Australian government has responded to president Ramos Horta's concerns - and essentially, it agrees.

GOVERNMENT STATEMENT: The government shares president Ramos Horta's desire for well targeted and effective assistance to improve East Timor's capacity to build the institutions of state, deliver basic services and reduce poverty.

WERDEN : AID/WATCH is an independent watchdog that has been vocal on the issue of boomerang aid - where aid money to foreign countries ends up funding Australian companies, consultants, and goods and services, rather than the people it's meant for. AID/WATCH spokesman, Tim Anderson, says aid programmes - including those of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank - are expensive and wasteful.

ANDERSON: Very little education and training happens under our aid programmes, even though billions of dollars are spent, there are a lot of short term workshops, there's a very small number of scholarships, we are not even the top three of training partners with Timor Leste at the moment, . Indonesia, the Philippines and Cuba for example are far bigger providers of training to East Timor than Australia is. An AUSAID scholarship for example for a young student from Timor Leste, there's 20 of them per year, that's the government's current quota on it. It isn't resources that stops us training large numbers of people from Timor, Papua New Guinea, or Solomons, and it's not a lack of goodwill, it's something about our system and the way we do aid programmes.

PURCELL: You can make criticisms and I think it's right and appropriate for the president of East Timor to keep everyone on their toes, but I think people are working very hard and very seriously to actually improve the lives of people in East Timor.

WERDEN: Mark Purcell from The Australian Council for International Development, the umbrella organisation for Australia's non profit aid and development agencies. He says community organisations have strong standards surrounding aid delivery and the Australian government is moving in the same direction.

PURCELL: I think, in terms of where the Australian aid programme goes overall, I think, there will be changes around more focus on rural areas in the future, I think, there has been a focus within Dili in particular and that's because that's where the government is and there are particular needs there, but the president's comments around villages having great needs and a greater focus on working in villages and rural areas is being listened to and I would expect the Australian government would have a greater focus in those areas in the future.

WERDEN: In April of this year, the Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd claimed that aid money to Papua New Guinea had been misspent on consultants, rather than it going to teachers and health services. Paul Barker from PNG's Institute of National Affairs says its not just about money but better screening of staff.

BARKER: Sometimes they off load consultants into PNG that would be unacceptable in South East Asia and sometimes it has to be said that donor organisations are not that good at screening, their own staff haven't got the skills or the experience themselves to know a good consultant from a less good consultant if perhaps they say one.

WERDEN: But Mr Barker believes Mr Rudd's comments were a timely impetus for change.

BARKER: I think, there's an awareness within AUSAID and within some of the other donors that they have to cooperate better, I think there's increasing pressure on them to do so.

WERDEN: Do you thing those things have changed since prime minister Rudd made his comments or were they always going down that track?

BARKER: That probably enhanced the program. I think, this awareness was building up and I think that gave a little shock treatment, if you like, to encourage change to move along a little bit faster.

News Update

SBS awarded East Timor's highest honour

27 July 2009 | 10:42:24 AM | Source: SBS

SBS has become the first institution to receive East Timor's highest honour, the Medalha de Merito de Timor-Leste, or the Medal of Merit of East Timor.

East Timorese president Jose Ramos-Horta personally presented the award for excellence in journalism to SBS Managing Director Shaun Brown in Sydney

"For 20 years or more, I have always had fond memories and respect for this institution," Dr Ramos-Horta said.

"When most ignored (the problems in East Timor), SBS provided us with the coverage, the hope ... that somehow we still exist, and you have done this with outstanding professionalism and quality."

Dr Ramos Horta has been in Australia for the launch of the film Balibo, based on the true story of the Balibo Five, a group of Australian-based journalists killed in East Timor in 1975.

Along with the medal came a citation, honouring SBS for being a voice of democracy, freedom, justice and truth for the past 30 years.

The citation says SBS has drawn attention to the forgotten places in the world and to the overlooked victims of war.

News Update

The Australian

EAST Timor president Jose Ramos Horta has given the film Balibo the thumbs up, saying that watching it was like a flashback, casting him back 34 years to events in East Timor in 1975 to relive "what I thought I had forgotten about".

Speaking ahead of the launch of the film at the Melbourne International Film Festival tonight, he said he hopes the film, about the murder of six journalists during the invasion of East Timor by Indonesia, will do some justice to the memory of the journalists and what his people suffered.

He said there were some “lingering comments” that the Balibo Five journalists and Roger East, who went to East Timor to investigate the deaths and was also killed, were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“They were in the right place at the right time,” he said.

Mr Ramos Horta said East went to East Timor, at his urging, because “he felt disgust at the absolute lack of knowledge about what was going on in East Timor and he wanted to do something about it”.

“He was a man with a mission and the mission was to tell the truth about a small people that no-one cared about," he said.

President Horta said the portrayal of the killing of East was “almost 100 per cent accurate,” but the torture and murder of at least one of the Balibo Five was in reality much more shocking than portrayed in the film.

“They were not just executed,” he said. “At least one of them was brutally, brutally tortured.” The journalists’ bodies were then burned to cover the facts because senior officers knew what the political consequences would be if the bodies were discovered.

Horta said East Timor was regarded in 1975 as “a footnote” in the post-Vietnam era and one senior US diplomat told Indonesia to “go ahead, invade, but do it quickly, effectively and without the use of US weapons”.

Actor Anthony LaPaglia (East) described the journalist as a forgotten man, who “for some reason, in the world of journalism, seems to have disappeared off the map”.

He said he was introduced to the Balibo story, about which he knew little, at a barbeque at the home of producer Rebecca Williamson in Los Angeles where they discussed Jill Jolliffe’s book, Cover Up.

Director Robert Connolly said it was on many trips to East Timor that he became determined to tell the story not only of the Australian journalists killed in East Timor but also East Timor’s “incredible journey to independence”.

“It is not only the story of the Balibo Five and the story of Roger East and the president in ‘75, but also the story of Timor Leste,” he said.

Touching on the conspiracy trial over his attempted assassination last year, President Horta said he had “no problem” about sympathetic coverage given to the case of Angelita Pires, former girlfriend of rebel leader Alfredo Reinado.

“Journalists are human beings, not above any of us mere mortals,” he said. “They have their own prejudices, perceptions (and) sensitivities.”

He said he had “the deepest respect” for East Timor’s young judicial system. “They are part of our new incipient nation handling an extremely difficult case that involves an attempt on the life of the president therefore I can express only tremendous sympathy and respect for them.”

The Balibo Five were Greg Shackleton, 27, Tony Stewart, 21, Gary Cunningham, 27, Brian Peters, 29, Malcolm Rennie, 28. Tony East was 50.

New Balibo Film ready to be officially launched in Sydney

Ramos Horta Partisipa Lansamentu Filme Balibo Iha Sydney

Written by CJITL Editor

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Oscar hanesan Horta iha Filme Balibo Dili-CJITL, Prezidente Republika Demokratika Timor Leste Jose Ramos Horta hal'ao hela nia Vizita ofisial ida ba Australia durante semana tomak atu halo lansamentu ba Filme Balibo iha Sydney. Informasaun ne’e reporter CJITL hetan husi media office loron 2prezidente nian (1/07) iha Palasio Aitarak-Laran-Dili. Iha Filme ne'e Autor Oscar Isaac, sidadaun Cubano nian mak sai hanesan (memerankan posisi) Ramos Horta iha tinan 1975. Autor Holywood, Antonio Lapaglia mak sai hanesan autor primeiru iha fime ne'e hodi hakn'ar hanesan Jornalista Roger East husi Australia ne'ebe mate iha Balibo, Maliana. Filme ne'e nia Trial bele vizita iha www.balibo.com Prezidenti Republika sei hala’o vizita official ba fatin fatin importante balun iha Sydney hanesan Eskola Muzika iha Sea Collegue nomos sei fo kuliah ba universidade Vitoria - Melborne. Nune’e mos tuir agenda Ramos Horta sei hasoru malu ho Embasador Israel ba Australia Yuval Rotern no Embasador Palestina ba Timor Leste, Izzak A. Durante iha Sedney. Tuir planu vizita oficial prezidenti Jose Ramos Horta ne’e sei remata iha loron 29 Julhu 2009.(dsc-cjitl)

Update News,

'Britain should bear some responsibility for Timor Leste'

Published : July 21 2009

LONDON : As the 10th anniversary of the UN-sponsored referendum for Timor Leste's independence approaches, a yearlong campaign by a Catholic agency to raise awareness of the country in Britain is reaching its climax.

On Aug. 30, 1999, the people of Timor Leste voted overwhelmingly to sever ties with Indonesia, which had occupied their land for 25 years following the withdrawal of former colonial ruler, Portugal. During Indonesian rule, up to 200,000 East Timorese are reported to have died due to famine, the independence struggle and reprisals.

After the independence vote, pro-Jakarta militia went on a rampage that left hundreds dead.

Britain must bear some responsibility for the tragedies, says Progressio, an international Catholic advocacy and development agency. This is because Britain sold a total of £287.75 million (US$475 million) of arms to Indonesia during the occupation period.

Since independence, says Progressio, Timor Leste has been wracked by poverty with today about half the population unemployed and 45 per cent living on less than US$1 a day. Moreover, there is continuing violence between political and ethnic rivals.

Britain has given £1 million to the World Bank Trust Fund for the overwhelmingly Catholic country but recently announced it had no further plans to contribute. It funds other programs and agencies in the area, but Progressio says in a recent statement that "even the most optimistic estimates suggest this is less than 10 per cent of what the UK earned in arms sales."

It went on: "We are now asking the UK government to acknowledge its role in the occupation and repression of the East Timorese people by funding comprehensive capacity-building and rehabilitation programs."

For the past year, Progressio has been running a campaign to persuade Britain to do more for Timor Leste. It campaigns in schools and among parishes and youth groups. It is also lobbying members of parliament directly as well as supporting a petition organized by activists in Timor Leste which will be presented to visiting dignitaries at the anniversary celebrations.

Progressio's most recent project was an exhibition of photographs of Timor Leste held at the Houses of Parliament just before MPs left for their summer recess, opened on July 6. The newly appointed Catholic Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster attended the event.

"The exhibition was staged in a hall which all MPs must pass through on their way in and out of the Chamber," said Progressio spokesman Jo Barrett. "It attracted a lot of attention ... we are confident that it met with a good response."

At the exhibition, Progressio presented the Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis, an MP, with hundreds of messages from the British public calling for justice for Timor Leste.

Lewis praised the campaign and said it was "incredibly important" to recognize the important contribution faith played in solving some of the world's worst problems.

He also praised the testimony of Zequito de Oliveiro, an East Timorese, who spoke movingly at the launch of the deaths of family members, including two brothers, in the violence.

Progressio was founded in 1940 as the Sword of the Spirit, in response to the silence of the Church hierarchy to the rise of fascism. In the 1950s, it started providing information to people inside and outside the Church about international affairs. In 1965, it changed its name to the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) and set up an overseas volunteer program.

It is still legally known as the CIIR but in 2006 changed its name to Progressio after Pope Paul VI's 1967 encyclical "Populorum Progressio" (On the Development of Peoples) -- to reflect its dual mission of recruiting development workers and advocacy on behalf of developing nations.

Courtesy : UCAN

Update on TL News

All eyes on total force Pacific Angel team

Posted 7/20/2009 Updated 7/20/2009 Email story Print story



by Tech. Sgt. Cohen A. Young
Defense Media Activity-Hawaii

7/20/2009 - DILI, Timor Leste -- A total force team of U.S. military eye specialists is working together here to improve the eyesight of local East Timorese people as part of Operation Pacific Angel 2009.

Pacific Angel is a Pacific Air Forces humanitarian assistance operation in the Asia-Pacific region led by 13th Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Two Pacific Angel teams are operating through July 24 - one here and another in Indonesia.

"My role here on this mission as an optometrist is to provide basic eye care services to the East Timorese people," said Maj. Brian Kemper, a native of Eagle River, Alaska. Major Kemper is assigned to the 3rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.

"We're providing eyeglasses, medication and referrals for surgery to the national hospital [in Timor Leste]," said Major Kemper.

The four members of the optometry section have helped hundreds of people as of July 20, according to Maj. Kemper.

"We've been able to provide 800 people with eye ware that wouldn't have had access to treatment or would have lacked the funds to purchase glasses," Major Kemper added.

Active duty, reserve and national guard members make up the total force team, who have come to Indonesia from all around the globe.

"I'm active duty, and we have a reserve optometrist from Florida, an active duty technician from South Korea, and a guard technician from Georgia," said Major Kemper.

Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Kapheim, an optometry technician from the Air National Guard's 165th Medical Group in Savannah, Ga., said such total force teams are valuable to the nation.

"I believe the guard and reserve complement the active duty Air Force in a great way," said Sergeant Kapheim. "Everyone has been fantastic and everything has been seamless because we are all here for the same mission."

Major Kemper said he has been impressed with team's performance and commitment to working with local authorities to help the East Timorese people.

"We've been able to get a lot of good training, and the technicians have really stepped up and done an amazing job working over and above what they may have done at their home station," said Major Kemper.

The operation has been a memorable one for all the members of the team, Sergeant Kapheim said.

"The experience here has been very fun, very rewarding and a learning experience because I met the locals and worked with interpreters," said Sergeant Kapheim.

The optometry team has epitomized the Air Force's total force with their success providing needed optometry assistance to people in under served areas here during Pacific Angel.

"It's rewarding seeing their faces when...you've improved their vision, which is going to help improve their life outside of here," added Sergeant Kapheim.

Pictures

Dinner at Darling Harbour after first student meeting

East Timor News Update

Green Left Weekly : Now for the good news

Peter Boyle

19 July 2009


In a fortnight when the world's wealthiest countries escalated their war on one of the world's poorest, Afghanistan, and when Peter Sold-His-Soul-To-The-Devil Garrett gave the nod to a new uranium mine to be run by a company controlled by a billionaire US arms merchant and former contra gunrunner, you'd be keen to get some good news.

Fortunately there is some good news, as solidarity activist Tim Anderson explained to Green Left Weekly. But this is good news you won't hear about in the mainstream media in Australia:

“Eighteen Timorese students from Celia Sanchez College in Manzanillo, Cuba, completed their fifth year of medical studies in late June and have started their sixth year. They expect to return to Timor Leste in mid-August, and to go to the sub-districts (where the Cuban doctors are at the moment) and practise medicine while they complete their studies.

“This small group will be a test for Timor Leste. There is a lot of expectation, particularly because the students have been away from home since September 2003.”

There are currently 700 Timorese studying medicine in Cuba and further 165 studying with Cuban doctors in Timor Leste. Many more students from the Pacific Islands, Latin America and Africa are also studying in Cuba, often with their tuition and board completely paid for by the Cuban government.

At the July 15 Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt, Cuban President Raul Castro said: “At the moment, almost 51,000 Cuban workers are assisting in 98 countries to save lives, prevent diseases or contribute to development while over 32,000 youths from 118 countries, mostly in the Third World, are studying free of charge in our educational centres, 78% of them in medical schools.”

Anderson said: “The returning Timorese medical students will have to get used to the health system in their country.”

“Even this small initial group will add significantly to the health professionals in their country. They will also reinforce the Cuban health professional ethos in Timor Leste — health workers as public servants, not as medical entrepreneurs selling their services.”

Maroubra BBQ