FRETILIN HERE TO STAY

Chris White’s initial observations on the Third National FRETILIN Congress, Dili, Timor-Leste 8th -11th September 2011.

MUA Here to stay! FRETILIN Here to stay!

Thomas Mayor MUA Darwin summed up his solidarity greeting with this key message to more than 700 men and women delegates in bright red, yellow and black T-shirts at the Third National FRETILIN Congress (Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste).

Fretilin has used its time since the 2006 ‘crisis’ and 2007 elections in opposition well to reorganize its base from Dili and 13 districts, reconstruct structures, and build a contemporary professional political party. It has 167,000 members and with several thousand more awaiting registration in theTimor-Leste’s population of one million.

Congress adopted after debate the proposed programme, which I will recount later. On elections to the Central Committee, after vigorous debate, the proposed list was elected. We had to wait as the voting was conducted individually in booths in the hall.

The Party President and Secretary-General both were elected pre-Congress by direct ballot by all members. This resulted in the leadership of President Francisco Guterres – Lu’Olo (who was a guerilla fighter in the mountains from 1975 until the end of the war in 1999) and Secretary-General Mari Alkatiri overwhelming re-elected: total number of votes 165,570: in favour 147,064 valid votes 95.87%; against 4.13%; invalid votes: 4.21%; votes with no tick: 3.13%.

Fretilin is one of the few political parties to hold a national secret and direct vote by all members for top leadership positions, unlike most parties e.g. the ALP where only the MPs vote.

Party leaders talked of this as a transition era to 2017, when the new generation of leaders will be voted in.

The Congress was live on TV so that members and supporters could follow proceedings. Translation of the Tetun through headphones assisted international guests.

FRETILIN is here to stay

As political and military forces have been trying to destroy FRETILIN, ‘here to stay’ resonates, for Australians supporting the MUA understand. I begin with a brief account of Fretilin’s survival over 37 years. This is historically critical. After this extraordinary struggle Fretilin is organising for the 2012 elections and a return to government.

For those who know this ‘keeping Fretilin in history’ you can go to ‘Congress proceedings’, the handing over of the Australian resistance radios, to new exposes on Howard and Downer’s role in the 2006 ‘crisis’ as a coup forcing PM Alkatari to resign, with new Wiki-Leaks reports. I urge solidarity activists to attend as observers the 2012 elections.

The East Timorese suffered under their Portuguese colonial masters ruling over 400 years. Again they suffered in WW2 from the Japanese fascists. The people lived in dire poverty into the 1970’s. FRETILIN began as a resistance movement fighting for independence from Portugal’s fascist regime until in 1975 with de-colonialisation and against Indonesian military occupation until 1999. The Fretilin party had early mass support for independence and as an initial government after resisting an internal coup.

The Australian and US governments supported the illegal 1975 Indonesian invasion. In 1975 the resistance struggle moved into the mountains to wage a unique guerilla war linked overseas to their international solidarity strategy led by FRETILIN’s External Delegation or Diplomatic Front based in Maputo.

For 24 years the East Timorese resistance survived the Suharto fascist regime’s brutal occupation, the Indonesian army’s massacres and genocide of protesting East Timorese. In 1978 Nicolau dos Reis Lobato, then the Fretilin leader, was killed by the Indonesian military. The armed military wing of Fretilin known as FALANTIL changes with Xanana Gusmao becoming the commander in 1979. Xanana leaves FRETILIN to lead the broad National Front CNRT. Ramos Horta overseas leaves Fretilin. Lu’Olo continues Fretilin leadership in the mountains as does Mari Alktari internationally from Mozambique.

Clinton Fernandes has a detailed account in ‘The Independence of East Timor Multi-dimensional Perspectives – Occupation, Resistance and International Political Activism’ 2011 (Sussex Press). ‘The Timor rebels did not have a land border with a friendly state, had no external supplier of weapons and no liberated area in which to recover between guerrilla operations, so their successful resistance is unique in the history of guerrilla warfare and independence struggles. Equally uncommon was an unexpected weapon in the struggle – a remarkable display of strategic non-violent action. ‘

At this 3rd Congress the leadership presented to the delegates not a history of this period but the signaling of important events, dates and those in the leadership. Delegates wanted amendments to include more names. This lengthy debate is important to ensure the record against those powerful forces in Timor-Leste and abroad wanting to downplay the role of Fretilin and to erase it from this struggle.

Fretilin survives up to the 1999 independence vote of YES. The planned Indonesian State-sponsored terrorism has the TNI and militia massacre thousands, move over 250,000 to West Timor and destroy over 80% of infrastructure and houses in an attempt by Indonesian generals to destroy the democratic outcome. Despite the killings worsening, Howard and Downer had only prepared the Australian army to airlift Australians from Dili.

Australian mass protest action, union bans and widespread international outcry pushing President Clinton to move against the Indonesian government force Howard and Downer to reverse to be in the UN military intervention.

After UN stability, the 2002 Independence celebrations finally are enjoyed by all the political leaders and people and international guests united in this new nation.

All parties and political leaders agreed on their Constitution. They have an elected Parliament, with the PM then appointing the government or the Council of Ministers not in Parliament. The President is separately popularly elected. The Timor-Leste constitutional model is similar to European models, and institutionally different from Australia’s constitutional parliamentary democracy.

In their new democracy in the first Parliamentary elections in 2001 (supervised by the UN) Fretilin polls 57.4% of the vote with 55 seats in the 88-seat Assembly. Fretilin forms the first government with Mari Alkatiri as PM. Ramos-Horta is appointed Foreign Minister. Xanana Gusmao wins the as the popular President. The Fretilin government begins the enormous challenge of economic and social development of this one of the poorest nations, but with struggles over their oil/gas in the Timor Sea.

In 2006, the violent ‘crisis’ erupts culminating with powerful anti-Fretilin forces pressuring Mari Alkatiri to resign as PM. Xanana Gusmao as President appoints Ramos-Horta as PM until elections, whereupon Estanislau da Silva assumes the role of FRETILIN’s Prime Minister until the 2007 Parliamentary elections. See more below ‘The ‘crisis’ coup against Alkatiri’.

In the June 2007 elections Fretilin gets a reduced vote and the highest percentage 29%. But Xanana Gusmao with his new CNRT party (National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction) wins government with the majority alliance of other smaller parties in Parliament the Alliance Majority. Xanana Gusmao remains PM today.

Ramos Horta is elected President and is a major power politically autocratic with international networks.

No political institution or leader from the national liberation struggle won a clear majority based on program, ideas or leadership.

Mari Alkatiri and Fretilin MPs go into opposition. They are acknowledged as a quality opposition needed in a democracy, and of course politically very critical of the Majority Alliance government.

Congress proceedings

This Congress debated exhaustively their programme. The Congress manual and papers are in Tetun and Portuguese, so the details are not pursued at this time. These new (eventually ratified) programmes were debated regionally and in consultation with various party interests as in all parties. Congress delegates make stirring speeches, some are critical but the political nuances are for me hard to follow. They move amendments and there is much debate publicly. They work privately into the early hours of every morning.

This Congress worked hard for democratic processes by its member delegates and to counter any repeat of the 2006 Congress challenges.

Like any political party this Congress was normal in its processes. As an observer, it brought back many memories of years of Australian party and union conferences. Inspiring political addresses, singing of national songs, aiming for unified outcomes, being media savvy using social media, questions settled over credentials, exhaustive voting and counting, arguing to the early hours resolving factional disputes, and finally celebrations of the party’s 37 year history when a cake is presented and international guests join in the toasts.

I will list later all the international parties giving solidarity greetings. I remember guests were from Australia, Indonesia, Portugal, Mozambique, Angola, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba and Japan.

Important to see was the former Indonesian Army’s Golkar party praising Fretilin and saying, “Golkar will ask the government of Indonesia to support a Timorese bid to join ASEAN so that the development of Timor-Leste can go in the same phase of the development in ASEAN.” The representative of PDI-P who is a member of the Lower House of the Indonesian Parliament, said he believes that Fretilin will improve the 2007 vote. As well the National Democratic Party, and PKB spoke.

A member of the Central Committee of the Frelimo ruling party said that Fretilin is a historic and liberating party like Frelimo, so she believes will win the 2012 elections because it has a lot of militants.

Mari Alkatiri said that international support was crucial to winning and now in defending their independence.

Fretilin’s popular President Lu’Olo at the opening on Thursday 8th September invited all who wore Fretilin colour before to rejoin the party now because Timor-Leste needs everybody.

“Come together now because our beloved country needs us all. Fretilin has an idea that where there is peace, there will also be stability and vis-à-vis. Only Fretilin can help all the people to live with dignity and respect, and our martyred heroes are waiting for this result. If every member brings just one more person to vote with them for Fretilin in 2012, they will win an absolute majority.”

Lu’Olo recounted the success of the Alkatiri government and its responsible budget with proceeds from the oil/gas negotiations with the corporates and Australia. He stressed there was no need to topple Alkatiri. The 2006 Congress divisions are not to be repeated.

Mari Alkatiri emphasised that Fretilin will not go into a museum. Important past events need to be recounted to keep the history of the guerilla struggles, the clandestine front and the diplomatic front together. Alkatiri responded to criticisms that Fretilin policies were too radical.

Jose Reis, Assistant Secretary General conducted much of the process as president of the party’s Election Organising Preparations Committee. The head of their woman’s organisation, Marita Alvez spoke, as did others.

I now cite one vigorous political exchange against the government, normal for any opposition – here a release during the Congress:

‘E.Timor opposition calls for premier to resign’ (AFP) from Jose Teixeira MP.

‘DILI – East Timor’s opposition called Thursday for Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to step down as his cabinet faces scrutiny over corruption claims ahead of elections.

The anti-corruption commission said Monday it had handed six dossiers to the Attorney-General’s Office, which has since called on two cabinet members for questioning.

“Because of his mistakes, I ask Xanana to step down so that we can eradicate corruption in the government. If we can’t, then we are stealing our people’s money,” Fretilin Secretary-General Mari Alkatiri told party members at a congress meeting.

Finance Minister Emilia Pires and Justice Minister Lucia Lobato have been called in by prosecutors, but factions of the ruling Fretilin party say that several other members are implicated in graft cases as well.

Alkatiri, who served for four years as the tiny half-island nation’s first prime minister from 2002, accused Gusmao of weak leadership and said corruption was making the poor in East Timor poorer.

“In my era, any mistake by Fretilin or any minister was my fault. Now it is never the fault of the prime minister — the ministers themselves are blamed.”

Australian Resistance radios cheered

Introduced by a speech by Mari Alkatiri, two historic radios used in the 1970s radio link between FRETILIN, Darwin and the world were handed over by Rob Durbridge, Bob Boughton and myself to a standing ovation.

The party is an astute user of media resources, including social media, so images were on You Tube shortly after

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4pYivWkYew

Congress delegates applauded the role of Darwin co-ordinator Brian Manning from the Communist Party of Australia and WWF and those who staffed the radio under difficult conditions, including Estanislau da Silva, who joined us on stage. The CPA established and maintained the radio link for which Alkatiri thanked all concerned.

Brian Manning’s story on the clandestine radio broadcasts can be found in his story in ‘Rough Reds’ ‘Charlie India Echo Tango calling Timor Leste’

http://www.mua.org.au/news/a-few-rough-reds/

You can read about the radios’ history from Darwin solidarity leader Rob Wesley-Smith’s story “Radio Maubere and Links to East Timor” in ‘Free East Timor: Australia’s Culpability in East Timor’s Genocide’ edited by Jim Aubrey (1998, Random House.)

Rob Durbridge from SEARCH expressed solidarity to Fretilin, as did Deborah Durnan and the ALP’s Assistant Secretary Nick Martin.

The ‘crisis’ coup against Alkatiri

FRETILIN supporters in 2006 who were not blinkered by Ramos Horta’s rhetoric and Xanana Gusmao’s charisma were aware of the ‘coup’ but FRETILIN media releases have never been given coverage in Australia.

Peter Symonds amongst others argued “How Australia orchestrated ‘regime change’ in East Timor” in Australian Options Spring 2006 http://www.australianoptions.org.au/issues/options_46/article_symonds.php

Tim Anderson in Timor-Leste ‘The second Australian Intervention’ in the Journal of Australian Political Economy No 58 p 62 begins with a Fretilin press release, 26 June 2006.

“We did not expect that the elected leader of a party with an overwhelming mandate could be forced to stand down in this way in a democracy”

‘Two stories are in circulation over the second Australian intervention in Timor-Leste (East Timor). The first has it that the small, newly independent country, beset with leadership and ethnic divisions, and led by an arrogant and even despotic Prime Minister, out of touch with the people, called once again on Australian assistance to avoid collapse into a ‘failed state’.

The second maintains that the losing leadership faction,
in a struggle for control of the senior ranks of the army, initiated a coup, then drew on the support an Australian oligarchy that had distanced itself from Timor Leste’s ruling party and the then Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri. How these competing stories are understood has important implications for the future Australian relationship with Timor Leste, and for the possibilities of independent development in the new nation. In the reading of these stories there are important lessons for Australians over their capacity to act as internationalists, developing friendly and supportive neighbouring relations, or as neo-colonialists, attempting to dominate the development of a client state.” Read more here

Paul Cleary ‘s book “Shakedown: Australia’s grab for Timor oil” (2007, Allen Unwin) shows Howard and Downer despising PM Mari Alkatiri due to his successful stance on oil negotiations, for adopting some independence with US and China, and his relationship with Portugal. Howard was the only government leader suggesting Alkatiri resign. Howard did not pay a courtesy call on Alkatiri but rushed to congratulate Ramos Horta within a week of Alkatiri’s resignation.

The Age reported Alkatiri not guilty of so-called ‘arming’
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/alkatiri-cleared-of-timor-assassin-squad-claims/2007/02/05/1170524024167.html

On September 9, 2011, this new Sydney Morning Herald report was circulated to us at the Congress from Jose Teixeira FRETILIN MP and media spokesperson.

‘Four Corners accused over story that hastened the fall of Alkatiri. A filmmaker says an ABC program on East Timor took the word of an unreliable witness, writes Wendy Frew.
A NEW documentary about East Timor has raised questions about a Gold Walkley-winning ABC TV program that led to the resignation of Mari Alkatiri as prime minister in 2006.
Breaking the News, directed by Nicholas Hansen, examines the relationship between local and foreign journalists in East Timor and examines the Four Corners program ”Stoking the Fires”. Hansen, who spent four years researching and filming the documentary, says Four Corners painted a potentially misleading picture of the government’s alleged involvement in arming civilian militia – an issue that remained clouded in uncertainty. He told the Herald the willingness of Four Corners to accept the testimony of unreliable characters and its failure to investigate possible links between the militia and the then president Xanana Gusmao put its report ”on a very shaky trajectory”.

Four Corners investigated claims that in May 2006, when East Timor was apparently on the brink of civil war, Alkatiri ordered his minister of the interior, Rogerio Lobato, to arm a secret civilian security team. The report produced what it said was evidence Alkatiri at least knew his minister was arming civilians.

It spoke to the leader of one militia, Commander Railos, who said Alkatiri told him to ”eliminate” about 600 disgruntled soldiers (known as petitioners), opposition leaders, some military leaders and any Fretilin members who opposed Alkatiri.
Lobato was later found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years’ jail. Alkatiri denied the allegations and prosecutors said there was no evidence to substantiate them.
Four Corners filmed a ”sting” that involved Railos staging a mock gun battle against the petitioners, and then phoning Lobato to get his approval to shoot them. No petitioners were at the scene.

Hansen’s documentary quotes East Timor journalists who say Four Corners did not tell the full story. A Timor Post reporter, Rosa Garcia, who worked with Four Corners, said she did not know who asked Railos to stage the mock gun battle and she didn’t think Four Corners knew either. She says when she brought the story about the militia to the ABC she said Railos and his men were sheltering at Gusmao’s house.

In Hansen’s documentary, Garcia says: ”We cannot interview Xanana Gusmao. That is why the Four Corners program is not complete, for me.”

The executive producer of Four Corners, Sue Spencer, told the Herald Four Corners stood by the program.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/four-corners-accused-over-story-that-hastened-the-fall-of-alkatiri-20110908-1jzy9.html#ixzz1XOyz7VoL

See video here
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/apr2011/timo-a25.shtml

(Helen Hill gives an insightful analysis of earlier Australian capitalist media myths and bias on Timor-Leste’s politics in ‘Dispelling the myths of Timor’ in Arena Magazine No. 62 (February-March 2003) www.arena.org.au
One of Alkatiri’s responses at the time

http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/30078

Some interesting background from community radio here

http://nimbinradiomedia.libsyn.com/index.php?search=timor&Submit=Search)

Then in the 2008 ‘attempted assassination’ of Ramos-Horta, Alkatiri is forced to deny any involvement – there is again much to come out in another story.

Army head resigns

At the Congress delegates expressed various private positions on the recent resignation by popular Commander Major General Taur Matan Ruak as head of Timor-Leste’s Defence forces. He is a historic leader former Falantil military guerilla operational commander. Some saw Ruak’s resignation as meaning he will run as President against Fretilin, others that he would not. Ruak’s intentions will become clear soon, with much behind the scenes negotiations.

Union launch

During a lengthy Congress voting and counting process, we briefly left the Convention Centre to meet with the Timor-Leste unions and sign in a ceremony their KSTL (Konfederasaun Sindikatu Timor-Leste) information newsletter.

Reps were from the Timor Teachers Union just completing a successful strike action in negotiations, the Nurses Association, the Public Sector Union, the Maritime, Energy & Transport Union, the Agricultural Workers Union, the Construction Workers Union and the General Workers Union.

These Unions joined together in 2002 into the peak union organisation KSTL whose President is Zito da Costa and General Secretary is Rigo Monterio. They outlined their workplace issues. They are negotiating collective agreements. OHS training with Australian union assistance is progressing. Zito said a major union issue is job creation given the 43% unemployment. The KSTL puts making jobs in the rural areas with government funding as demands to all political parties before the 2012 election.

All political parties accept workers’ rights and the role of effective unions to assist economic and community development. Most employers support tripartism. I heard that new extensive provisions for an amended Labour Code were progressing slowly through various Commissions in Parliament. KSTL is watching the details. (See my APHEDA report).

Election observers

For the two rounds of elections next year probably April and June/July –yet to be announced- Fretilin welcomes SEARCH and unions and solidarity activists nominating to the Electoral Commission as observers.

I hope Fretilin leaders theme of ‘peace, stability and development’ holds. We shall see…

I will write further reports later.

I end with this media report on contemporary politics.

“Dili. East Timor’s fragile stability will be tested in coming months as the country’s political and business elite maneuver ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in 2012.

Some foreign businessmen are already talking quietly about quitting the country during the election build–up, amid widely held fears of turmoil and possible violence.

Festering anger over unpunished crimes committed during the Indonesian occupation, land disputes, corruption and rivalries in the security forces are simmering beneath the otherwise sleepy surface of East Timor’s seaside capital.

Underlying everything is the potential for instability that stalks almost all energy–rich developing countries with billions of dollars in oil revenues accumulating in government coffers.

The IMF calls East Timor the “most oil–dependent economy in the world”, with petroleum income accounting for around 95 percent of total government revenue in 2009.

“The reality is we are a post–conflict country, we’ve got a large chunk of young people who are unemployed… and a lot of conflict as a result of our history,” opposition Fretilin party spokesman Jose Teixeira said.

“I think we’ve taken some steps forward but we haven’t done that well.”

…analysts say East Timor’s police are still incapable of dealing with even minor unrest, and accuse them of having links to shadowy martial arts gangs responsible for frequent outbreaks of violence.

Observers saw echoes of 2006 — when rioting and factional fighting brought the country to the brink of civil war — in gang–related violence last month in Zumalai, on the southern coast.

…a culture of impunity had developed in the country of around a million people under the leadership of President Jose Ramos–Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who have put reconciliation before justice.

As a result, East Timorese who joined pro–Indonesian militias during the bloodshed surrounding the independence referendum have started returning from exile in the knowledge they will not be prosecuted for their crimes.

Belo describes the returnee issue as a “time bomb” and fears the election could act as a detonator.

“We should be preparing for the domestic violence that we face every day, but we haven’t,” he said, criticizing the police for “acting as a paramilitary with big machine guns” instead of engaging with the community.

Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres — a possible presidential candidate — acknowledged the country faced many problems, but said fears of a repeat of the 2006 crisis were overblown.

“Even Darwin has a crime rate higher than Timor, and Dili is more safe than many capitals around the world,” he said, referring to the northern Australian city nearest to Dili.

The government has introduced pensions for veterans of the independence struggle so that no former fighters feel marginalised or aggrieved.

“You have to have stability in a holistic way, you can’t just look at policing,” he said.

Gutteres and Teixeira come from different sides of politics but both agreed the main parties had little to gain from stirring up trouble ahead of the polls.

“Everybody understands that … if you love this country and you love our people, we can’t afford another crisis,” Teixeira said.

“If we have another … crisis, that’s it, it’s the end. It’s failed state status. But we didn’t fall off that brink in 2006 and I don’t think we will now.”

Reading: For those Australians wanting to read more please see the Appendix at the end of my APHEDA 2011 study tour report, including books on and by Xanana Gusmao and his wife Kirsty, presentations not given here. http://chriswhiteonline.org/2011/09/apheda-timor-leste-2011-study-tour/
September 21st 2011