This has been a big year for Timor Leste, with one of theworld’s smallest and most impoverished countries passing a series of importantmilestones. July’s parliamentary elections took place without incident, whichmeans the United Nations - a highly visible presence in the country “ will pullout its peacekeeping troops before the end of the year.
This follows peaceful presidential polls held over tworounds in March and April, and the 10th anniversary of independence fromIndonesia on May 20. Just after midnight that day, on the outskirts of thecapital Dili, new president Taur Matan Ruak was sworn into office in front oftens of thousands of Timorese and dignitaries including Indonesian PresidentSuslio Bambang Yudyohono. Although the atmosphere was relatively subdued, theenthusiasm of the Timorese people for their hard-fought freedom and democracywas clear. It was certainly a long time coming.
Centuries of Portuguese colonial rule ended in 1975, butweeks later the fledgling state's powerful neighbor, Indonesia, invaded on thepretext of fighting communism, backed by the US. A bloody guerrilla warfollowed, ending with independence in 2002.
Walking home after the 10th anniversary ceremony, I gotlost. After wandering for some time in the early hours, I noticed someonebeckoning to me from an SUV parked in traffic. I gratefully climbed in the backand got chatting to the driver, a pleasant, sharp-suited man who said his namewas Juvencio and he worked for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He spoke goodEnglish and appeared to be in his late 30s.
Juvencio told me he'd had a grandmother in England; I wasintrigued and asked him about her. She wasn’t his real grandmother, heexplained, but a Quaker and peace activist who had written to him during theseven years he spent in jail for his role in the resistance movement. Hisaffection for her was as clear as his enthusiasm for urban planning andimproving the lot of Dili residents, which was his focus now. He dropped meback at my hotel and reached around to shake my hand. I didn’t even get a goodlook at his face. But I have thought of Juvencio often since that night, for hesymbolizes to me both the tragedy and the hope of Timor Leste.
The task of reconstruction after decades of conflict hasbeen made easier by the nation’s large reserves of oil and gas, but nearly halfthe population of 1.1 million still lives in poverty and corruption iswidespread.
Political violence has also been a sad feature ofindependence, with widespread unrest in 2006 and the attempted assassinationsof the president and prime minister in a 2008 failed coup. The UN IntegratedMission in Timor Leste - with around 3,000 military, police and civilianpersonnel - was deployed to keep order following the 2006 crisis, whichdisplaced tens of thousands. There is also a 450-strong contingent ofAustralian and New Zealand peacekeeping troops.
“We fought for our country and we got it. Now, we have tofight to fulfill our independence, and that task is not easy,” says ZesopholCaminha, a Timorese journalist and former guerrilla fighter “ an old comrade ofJuvencio - now based in the US.
“The majority of Timorese, especially in the districts,still lack their basic needs such as water and sanitation, and basic healthservices. The development issues are also challenged by the inequality thatexists on many levels - between men and women, the urban and rural areas, thosewith political connections versus others, and wealthy versus poor.”
Still, there are good reasons to hope that better days areahead. The country has one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacificregion, and is saving for the future by depositing revenue from offshore oiland gas fields in its sovereign wealth fund, which now stands at around $10.5billion. Around 75 percent of children now attend primary school, a significantincrease from a decade ago.
The past five years have been mostly stable, and Caminhafeels that now is the right time for the UN to leave. “I think it is importantto give us an opportunity to run our own country now,” he says. “We restoredour independence a decade ago. Like a child we were crawling, learning how towalk and sometimes falling, but we got up and now we are reaching our teenageyears as a nation. I believe if all the Timorese work hand-in-hand together,and leave our differences behind, we can build a prosperous Timor-Leste for us andour future generations.”
Mark Fenn is a British journalist currently based inSingapore. He has lived in Southeast Asia and written about regional issues andhuman rights issues for nearly 10 years.
