Editorial:

Stealing East Timor's oil

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) declared 
recently that East Timor will become a "failed state". This is 
the first indication that the Australian Government is 
considering doing what has already been done to the Solomon 
Islands — occupying it with military forces, sending in 
Australian officers to take over the economy, the government and 
judiciary of the country.

The take-over of the Solomon Islands was justified by using the 
"failed states" concept. States that are claimed to have "failed" 
and are to be taken-over by bigger powers are described as having 
weak institutions, corrupt governments, poor law and order, 
insufficient revenue, economic stagnation, disaffected and 
alienated youth, collapsed government services and a plentiful 
supply of guns.

Arguing that Australia had the right to intervene in the affairs 
of another sovereign country, John Howard declared that "the rest 
of the world expects Australia to shoulder a lot of the burden 
because this is our part of the world, this is our patch".

East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world. Instead 
of giving genuine help to put the nation back on its feet, the 
Australian Government is complicit in stealing the one resource -
- oil — that East Timor has that could finance, schools, 
hospitals, develop the economy of the country and provide other 
services to the people. This course would soon lift the East 
Timorese people out of poverty.

Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, is the Australian 
Government's main hatchet-man. As long ago as March 2003, soon 
after East Timor had won its independence, Alexander Downer 
berated the East Timorese Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, telling 
him that "Your claims [for oil rights] go almost to Alice 
Springs. You can demand that for ever for all I care. We are very 
tough. We will not care if you give information to the media. Let 
me give you a tutorial in politics — not a chance."

Here we see naked force being used against a small and weak 
country by a predator power, stuffed with arrogance. Downer is 
displaying the smash and grab mentality of a bandit. East 
Timorese officials said that Mr Howard and his ministers had 
treated Mr Alkatiri "as if he was a child" (Far Eastern 
Economic Review March 15, 2003).

It is not surprising that demonstrations are taking place against 
the Australian Embassy in Dili by disillusioned East Timorese who 
see for themselves that the Australian Government's attitude to 
East Timor is that of a robber baron, not that of a friend 
willing to help a neighbour. The friendship and goodwill towards 
Australia that had been generated at the time when Australian 
soldiers came to East Timor as part of a UN contingent to help 
expel the Indonesian occupiers is being thrown away.

Some time ago the United Nations established a mechanism for the 
settlement of disputes between nations over Law of the Sea 
matters. Knowing that its theft of East Timor's rightful oil-
fields would not stand up in law, the Australian Government 
withdrew from the legal jurisdiction so that it would be free to 
do whatever it liked.

The intention of the government and the corporations to 
consolidate Australia's theft of East Timor oil is indicated by 
the plan to build an oil pipeline from the oilfields to Darwin 
and the construction there of an oil refinery. This move is being 
sold to Australians with the claim that this will create jobs for 
Australian workers. It is to be hoped that Australian trade 
unions see through this ploy and refuse to become complicit in 
the Howard Government's crime.

A genuinely friendly neighbour would extend assistance to 
establish an oil refinery in East Timor to refine the oil that is 
rightfully theirs. It would help to train East Timorese workers 
to operate the refinery and help them with all the technical 
matters involved. This course would also provide jobs for 
Australians and relieve East Timor's poverty.

The long struggle of the East Timorese people has made them much 
more politically aware and steeled them in armed resistance as 
well. If Australia attempts to implement another occupation using 
the "failed states" doctrine it will not be Indonesian troops who 
would become the oppressors but Australian military forces.