The Guardian 14 June, 2006
East Timor: The plotting continues
The scurrilous and lying campaign of the Australian media, including the ABC and SBS, directed against the East Timor Government and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri in particular was continued and even intensified during the past week. It reached new depths with allegations that Mari Alkatiri was responsible for the massacre of 60 East Timorese civilians and had made death threats against others. This was denied by the President of Fretilin who said that Alkatiri "never ordered anyone killed".
These unsubstantiated allegations which smack of a typical smear campaign. Those who make these allegations are guaranteed prime viewing on radio, the TV and in the media whereas the achievements of the Alkatiri Government have never been even mentioned.
In a cynical attempt to deepen divisions in East Timor’s leadership, appeals are made to Xanana Gusmao to tear up the constitution and sack the Government. Xanana Gusmao should be aware that if he were to capitulate to this pressure and sack the Government he would also be cast aside when he was of no further use to those manipulating the campaign. Both Indonesia and Australia have an interest in changing East Timor’s government and "activists" from both countries and some government leaders are very likely to be pulling the strings.
Both the Australian Government and the media have torn up the "rules of engagement" agreed to before Australia’s military contingent went to East Timor. These rules of engagement specifically said that Australia’s military forces were to disarm the rebels but this is being ignored and buried.
The Sydney Morning Herald (12/6/06) reported: "The swaggering Australian-trained soldier [Major Reinado, leader of the mutinous East Timor soldiers] turned up at the church with a dozen men armed with automatic weapons. They were accompanied by two Australian SAS soldiers who also carried automatic weapons."
Nothing is being done by Australia’s military contingent to disarm these soldiers. They are in fact being feted by the Australian media and the Australian-trained Major Reinado is presumably one of those being schooled as a replacement in a new government should it become possible to overthrow the properly elected government. A democratically elected government obviously means nothing to the Australian media and some in the Australian Government.
Another anti-Alkatiri attempt is being made by knocking together a "conference of academics" who are to study ways by which they hope to pursue Xanana Gusmao to "suspend" the constitution so that he can dissolve the present government.
One can only wonder who is paying and advising such a contemptible group of "wise men" who have probably been living off aid provided by the taxpayers of other countries and have had the opportunity to receive some academic training by courtesy of the educational facilities that have been rebuilt by the Alkatiri Government.
Some of the achievements of the Alkatiri Government are set out in the resolution of the CPA in this issue. We can add the fact that following a visit to Cuba by Mari Alkatiri, the Cuban Government provided 400 places for young East Timorese citizens to be trained as doctors in Cuba and sent 300 of its own doctors to help the medical services in East Timor. The Australian Government sends mostly soldiers, Cuba sends doctors. Which are more helpful to the long suffering East Timorese people?