Friday, June 23, 2006
Xanana demands that the people choose between himself and FRETILIN
Update from Timor-Leste, June 22, 2006
Today the FRETILIN National Political Commission with 15 members met in the morning at the Government Palace in Dili to develop a response to President Gusmao's demand yesterday and the day before for the Prime Minister to resign. A meeting scheduled for the afternoon, between Dr Alkatiri and Lu-Olo for FRETILIN and President Gusmao, was postponed until tomorrow morning, at the request of the President, to allow him more time to consider the FRETILIN proposal. This proposal was to adopt ideas put forward the previous day by Foreign Minister Horta to create two Deputy Prime Ministers, but for Mari Alkatiri to continue as Prime Minister, addressing concerns about maintaining a competent government.
There were two media conferences – one by FRETILIN at 4pm, and one by President Gusmao at 5pm, where the President spoke for 90 minutes in what was an address to the nation. The address completely changed the agenda for the three person meeting planned for tomorrow morning, and probably cancelled it.
FRETILIN's view
The FRETILIN NPC held a media conference at 4pm at its Comoro Headquarters, where Deputy General Secretary Jose Reis, Secretary of State for Region I, and Filomeno Aleixo, presented the broad views of FRETILIN on the crisis, but not the negotiating proposal put to the President.
The FRETILIN statement was a strong endorsement of Prime Minister Alkatiri and a strong call on President Gusmao to do more to unite the nation and support the government.
The statement began by asserting that Mari Alkatiri is the Prime Minister because he was elected to be FRETILIN General Secretary and because FRETILIN won a majority of votes and seats in the 2001 elections.
It asked all elements of Timor-Leste's sovereignty to uphold the sovereignty of Timor-Leste and its Constitution and to defend the dignity of the people of Timor-Leste, the 'Maubere people'.
It asserted that the institutions of sovereignty – the President, the Parliament, the Government and the Courts – have to resolve the crisis in a constitutional way.
FRETILIN asked the President as the Supreme Commander to guarantee the unity and stability of the nation through a constitutional solution that safeguards the fundamental democratic institutions of Timor-Leste.
FRETILIN said it would contribute to the solution by asking the President to work with them and all elements of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste and all political forces in the country to:
FRETILIN did not accept political persecution of activists as happened under the Indonesian regime and says that Rogerio Lobato is being persecuted, despite all the sacrifices of his family, including the recent burning of five family members. FRETILIN, with all the people, asked all component institutions of the state not to mix up legal and political processes, as happened under the Indonesian regime.
It noted that there are several armed civilian groups, but in the media they only hear about the Rai'los group.
FRETILIN committed to work fully with the international investigation team.
It appealed to all members not to listen to rumours that divide the people of Timor-Leste and can destroy the nation all have built on so much blood and bones. It asked people to remain calm in all Districts, Sub-Districts, Sucos and villages.
President Xanana Gusmao's view
At his media conference, President Gusmao made a very long speech about FRETILIN and its history, speaking like an all-wise grandfather scolding a naughty child and denouncing the naughty child to the world. He covered very many points in the history of FRETILIN, but the hard points were stories of FRETILIN leaders fighting each other for power in the liberation war, and fighting for power and money now. He said that the election at the FRETILIN Conference for the positions of General Secretary and President by show of hands, was illegal and therefore undemocratic. He accused Mari Alkatiri of buying votes at the Congress. He gave FRETILIN one week to hold a special conference to properly elect a new leadership. This shifts the ground for the resignation demand from the untenable arms distribution charges against the Prime Minister, and makes it into a demand to the people to choose between him as the personification of national independence, and FRETILIN.
In the concluding paragraphs of his speech President Gusmao said that if FRETILIN did not make Mari Alkitiri take responsibility for the huge crisis in the country, then tomorrow he would send his resignation letter to parliament. This contradicts the call for a special conference of FRETILIN within one week. Then he said with bitterness, that if he resigned then Lu-Olo would be president and sign the laws which he and FRETILIN would then break. He sarcastically said that the government would go on repairing the holes in Dili's streets, and the Members of Parliament would go on voting to feed their own families.
This speech is in many ways a tragic performance by a leader destroying the roots of his own leadership. In practical politics it is a major escalation of the political combat between the President and FRETILIN, following the President's failure to obtain the Prime Minister's resignation in the last two days.
FRETILIN now has to regroup to focus on this new line of criticism and attack and new level of demand, and devise a response that involves its large membership in a process which holds on to the fundamental gains of the Constitution and democratic practice. The expected schedule of Cabinet meeting and FRETILIN Central Committee meeting and ongoing talks with the President will be adjusted, but provide some process for the collective response and hard talking which the President's speech requires. The one week deadline for a special FRETILIN conference provides a timetable.
This stand-off is likely to cause even greater fear among the population, which has been reassured enough in recent days to begin to slowly return from displaced peoples centres to homes. This is a people who should not and cannot be asked to choose themselves or themselves – Xanana or FRETILIN. Where the President has so publicly rejected FRETILIN, there is a real need to find a way for FRETILIN to engage with and somehow unite with Xanana again, a way which upholds the basic values of the national liberation struggle in this phase of national construction.
Peter Murphy
Dili, June 22, 2006
Today the FRETILIN National Political Commission with 15 members met in the morning at the Government Palace in Dili to develop a response to President Gusmao's demand yesterday and the day before for the Prime Minister to resign. A meeting scheduled for the afternoon, between Dr Alkatiri and Lu-Olo for FRETILIN and President Gusmao, was postponed until tomorrow morning, at the request of the President, to allow him more time to consider the FRETILIN proposal. This proposal was to adopt ideas put forward the previous day by Foreign Minister Horta to create two Deputy Prime Ministers, but for Mari Alkatiri to continue as Prime Minister, addressing concerns about maintaining a competent government.
There were two media conferences – one by FRETILIN at 4pm, and one by President Gusmao at 5pm, where the President spoke for 90 minutes in what was an address to the nation. The address completely changed the agenda for the three person meeting planned for tomorrow morning, and probably cancelled it.
FRETILIN's view
The FRETILIN NPC held a media conference at 4pm at its Comoro Headquarters, where Deputy General Secretary Jose Reis, Secretary of State for Region I, and Filomeno Aleixo, presented the broad views of FRETILIN on the crisis, but not the negotiating proposal put to the President.
The FRETILIN statement was a strong endorsement of Prime Minister Alkatiri and a strong call on President Gusmao to do more to unite the nation and support the government.
The statement began by asserting that Mari Alkatiri is the Prime Minister because he was elected to be FRETILIN General Secretary and because FRETILIN won a majority of votes and seats in the 2001 elections.
It asked all elements of Timor-Leste's sovereignty to uphold the sovereignty of Timor-Leste and its Constitution and to defend the dignity of the people of Timor-Leste, the 'Maubere people'.
It asserted that the institutions of sovereignty – the President, the Parliament, the Government and the Courts – have to resolve the crisis in a constitutional way.
FRETILIN asked the President as the Supreme Commander to guarantee the unity and stability of the nation through a constitutional solution that safeguards the fundamental democratic institutions of Timor-Leste.
FRETILIN said it would contribute to the solution by asking the President to work with them and all elements of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste and all political forces in the country to:
- disarm all civilian groups that have guns
- suspend demonstrations
- stop all types of violence
- give political support to the government to carry out all institutional activities to guarantee that the 2007 elections take place.
FRETILIN did not accept political persecution of activists as happened under the Indonesian regime and says that Rogerio Lobato is being persecuted, despite all the sacrifices of his family, including the recent burning of five family members. FRETILIN, with all the people, asked all component institutions of the state not to mix up legal and political processes, as happened under the Indonesian regime.
It noted that there are several armed civilian groups, but in the media they only hear about the Rai'los group.
FRETILIN committed to work fully with the international investigation team.
It appealed to all members not to listen to rumours that divide the people of Timor-Leste and can destroy the nation all have built on so much blood and bones. It asked people to remain calm in all Districts, Sub-Districts, Sucos and villages.
President Xanana Gusmao's view
At his media conference, President Gusmao made a very long speech about FRETILIN and its history, speaking like an all-wise grandfather scolding a naughty child and denouncing the naughty child to the world. He covered very many points in the history of FRETILIN, but the hard points were stories of FRETILIN leaders fighting each other for power in the liberation war, and fighting for power and money now. He said that the election at the FRETILIN Conference for the positions of General Secretary and President by show of hands, was illegal and therefore undemocratic. He accused Mari Alkatiri of buying votes at the Congress. He gave FRETILIN one week to hold a special conference to properly elect a new leadership. This shifts the ground for the resignation demand from the untenable arms distribution charges against the Prime Minister, and makes it into a demand to the people to choose between him as the personification of national independence, and FRETILIN.
In the concluding paragraphs of his speech President Gusmao said that if FRETILIN did not make Mari Alkitiri take responsibility for the huge crisis in the country, then tomorrow he would send his resignation letter to parliament. This contradicts the call for a special conference of FRETILIN within one week. Then he said with bitterness, that if he resigned then Lu-Olo would be president and sign the laws which he and FRETILIN would then break. He sarcastically said that the government would go on repairing the holes in Dili's streets, and the Members of Parliament would go on voting to feed their own families.
This speech is in many ways a tragic performance by a leader destroying the roots of his own leadership. In practical politics it is a major escalation of the political combat between the President and FRETILIN, following the President's failure to obtain the Prime Minister's resignation in the last two days.
FRETILIN now has to regroup to focus on this new line of criticism and attack and new level of demand, and devise a response that involves its large membership in a process which holds on to the fundamental gains of the Constitution and democratic practice. The expected schedule of Cabinet meeting and FRETILIN Central Committee meeting and ongoing talks with the President will be adjusted, but provide some process for the collective response and hard talking which the President's speech requires. The one week deadline for a special FRETILIN conference provides a timetable.
This stand-off is likely to cause even greater fear among the population, which has been reassured enough in recent days to begin to slowly return from displaced peoples centres to homes. This is a people who should not and cannot be asked to choose themselves or themselves – Xanana or FRETILIN. Where the President has so publicly rejected FRETILIN, there is a real need to find a way for FRETILIN to engage with and somehow unite with Xanana again, a way which upholds the basic values of the national liberation struggle in this phase of national construction.
Peter Murphy
Dili, June 22, 2006
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