Sidadaun Sira Merese Resposta, La’os Insultu Sira iha Oe-cusse

Sidadaun Sira Merese Resposta, La’os Insultu Sira iha Oe-cusse post thumbnail image
(Fontes: Foto Internet, Dr. Rui M. de Araujo on Twitter)

(Fontes: Foto Internet, Dr. Rui M. de Araujo on Twitter)

Fulan kotuk ekipa ida husi FM hala’o treinamentu kona-bá setór seguransa no konxiensializa ba estudante kuaze 50 resin no foin sa’e iha Oe-cusse. Ami nia pesoal sira sempre kontenti hala’o programa ida ne’e iha Oe-cusse tamba fo oportunidade ida ba sira hodi haree direta projetu importante balun ne’ebé la’o ona liu husi inisiativa ZEESM Timor-Leste, nomos rona direta husi ema Oe-cusse na’in sira ne’ebé dalabarak haluha iha komunidade sosio-polítiku Díli nian. Husi perspetiva ida ne’e FM laran-triste ho esperensia negativu jeral husi komunidade ne’ebe luan ida ne’e, no rona ema barak nia frustrasaun, preokupasaun no laran susar ho prosesu polítiku no dezenvolvimentu iha ne’eba.

Primeru, ema aseita ho FM nia preokupasaun kona-bá sira nia seguransa iha komunidade Naktuka, Leolbatan, Suin-Sia, Baki-Tolas no area balun iha Suku Kosta nian, area-sira ne’ebé hanesan rai-ketan (disputa) hela entre Indonézia no Timor-Leste. Mezmu, tensaun ne’ebé la’o dadauk no inseguru iha komunidade hirak ne’e, rezolusaun ba liña teritóriu, rekonsiliasaun konflitu entre komunidade sira no efetividade patrulla kona-bá teritóriu Timor-Leste nian ne’ebé seidauk finaliza lolos no implementa (haree ami-nia blog iha ne’e kona-ba informasaun lolos). Ida ne’e iróniku boot katak sidadaun Timor-oan ne’ebé hela laho seguransa diak loro-loron iha rejiaun ne’e, maibé la hanesan área mamuk ne’ebé disputa iha Tasi-Mane, tanba sira la simu suporta ruma husi públiku iha forma ida protestu polítiku no demostrasaun iha kapital Díli, nomos laiha sítiu ka website atu promove sira nia problema, no la temi kuandu ita nia lideransa sira ko’alia kona-bá ida ne’e “Soberania Nasional Tomak.” Ida ne’e tamba ita-nia lideransa polítiku sira ne’e preokupa liu ba direitu ba rekursu minerais duke direitu ba ema sira ki’ik hodi hela livre husi tauk no ameasa?

Ne’ebé lori ita ba preokupasaun ne’ebé manifesta separadu ba ita iha Oe-cusse kona-bá kompetênsia no onestidade husi projetu administrasaun ZEESM Timor-Leste ne’e, enkuantu ema barak maka ami ko’alia hodi suporta konsetu ZEESM Timor-Leste ne’e, ema barak mos relata ba FM kona-bá sira-nia laran moras ba implementasaun ida ne’e, ne’ebé afeta ba sira nia nesesidade moris loron-loron, falta benefisu lokal no sira-nia fiar ba iha nepotizmu no kurupsaun ne’ebé namkari iha ninia diresaun finanseiru nian. Ida ne’e los katak reklamasaun barak husi ne’e hanesan anedota, maibé investigasaun dadauk ne’e husi Provedoria Diretus Humanus no Justisa (PDHJ) konfrma ona katak projetu ZEESM rua ne’e, Alargamentu Estrada no Barazen Tono ne’ebe lolos ne’e rezulta sofre husi membru sira komunidade ne’ebé iha ligasaun ho lakon uma no nesesidade sira, no foka iha failansu husi autoridade ZEESM Timor-Leste nian ne’ebé lolos ne’e tenke konsulta, sosializa no parseiru ba komunidade lokal.

Akuzasaun ketak sira kona-ba finanseira ne’ebé lamerese no nepotizmu ne’ebé rejeita maka’as husi Prezidente Autoridade, Dr Mari Alkatiri, ne’ebé sujere ona ba ajenda polítika ida kona-ba ninia akuzasaun “aliansa ho diabu”. Nia mos hatudu ona faktus katak Comissão Nacional Aprovizionamentu halo ona revisaun no hamoos nia husi iregularidade ruma.

Laho evidensia klaru husi alegasaun hirak ne’e, Dr. Alkatiri iha diretu atu iha prezunsaun de inosensia no nia mos provavelmente los hodi hatete ajenda polítika ida ne’e ho halimar. Maibé ida ne’e mos importante atu rekuiñese katak akuzasaun ne’e bele falsu ka rumoris deit, lia-anin hanesan ne’e bele mosu deit wainhira eziste ona preokupasaun lejítima husi komunidade ne’ebé frustradu no la simu transparansia no informasaun klaru husi Governu.

Iha ambitu finanseiru husi inisiativa ZEESM Timor-Leste, totalmente iha tinan ne’e sai milaun $218 (maizumenus ekivalensia ho total gastus husi saúde nasional no kombinasaun edukasaun), esklusaun ba fundu ida ne’e husi aprovizionamentu regular Governu nian no sistema akuntabilidade no fo poder luan ne’ebe fo ba ninia presidenti nomos konselu konsultivu ne’ebé la eleitu, nune’e ema Timor-oan tenke iha diretu atu deskonfia, liu-liu wainhira sira la haree benefisu ruma husi projetu sira iha sira nia komunidade. Ho ida ne’e, duke ignora sira, Prezidente Autoridade tenke rekuiñese deskonfia sira ne’e nu’udar konsikuensia direta husi fallansu autoridade rasik hodi implementa governasaun ne’ebé nakloke no transparansia, no imediatamente buka hodi mellora ho partisipasaun komunidade nian.

Envezde, bolu ema sira ne’ebé akuza nia kona-bá nepotizmu hanesan “aliansa ho diabu” bele nia orienta autoridade ZEESM Timor-Leste atu produs relatóriu finanseiru regular no aprezentasaun sira hatudu ba públiku kona-bá oinsa no sira nia osan ne’e gasta ona ba ne’ebé? Envezde ko’alia kona-bá komentariu negativu apenas “polítika iha periodu eleisaun 2017”, nia bele, hasa’e nivel konsultasaun públiku no diskusaun iha komunidade nia leet hale’u ho projetu sira, rekuiñese, dokumenta no rezolve povu nia preokupasaun?

Hanesan ita hakbesik ona ba eleisaun 2017 la iha dúvida katak sei akuzasaun barak entre polítiku sira hodi halo ajitasaun ba povu hodi manan poder, maibé maneira polítiku sira ne’ebé responsavel la’os insulta malu, maibé oinsa nakloke ba públiku, transparansia no akuntabilidade, no involve komunidade diak liu tan liu husi konsulta no edukasaun ka hanesan ZEESM Timor-Leste rasik hatete ona iha ninia objetivu estratéjiku rasik, “inklui kada familia Timor-oan hanesan partisipante ka parte interesante iha prosesu dezenvolvimentu”.

Ikus liu, FM dala ida-tan fo atensaun maka’as kona-bá transparansia públiku, akuntabilidade husi instituisaun públiku sira no ita nia lideransa polítiku sira no mos adopta rasional, evidensia bazeia ba debate iha asuntu polítiku Timor-Leste nian.

Tuir mai, FM rekomenda katak:

1. Governu aselera negosiasaun kona-bá demarkasaun lina fronteira hodi minimiza konflitu entre komunidade sira iha área fronteira iha Oe-cusse. Governu mos tenki fasilita prosesu rekonsiliasaun ba komnidade sira husi parte rua hodi bele rezolve preokupasaun sira no tensaun iha lina fronteira.

2. Autoridade ZEESM Timor-Leste no Governu rekuiñese no responde ba relatóriu PDHJ nian, dezeña oinsa sira implementa ninia rekomendasaun sira, liu-liu kona-bá hasa’e nivel partisipasaun komunidade nian no supervizaun husi Parlamentu Nasional nian ho projetu sira ZEESM Timor-Leste.

People Deserve Answers, not Insults in Oe-cusse

Last month a team from FM carried out security sector and safety awareness training with over 50 students and youth in Oecusse. Our staff always enjoy undertaking outreach programs in Oecusse because it gives them an opportunity to see first hand some of the major development projects being undertaken through the ZEESM TL Initiative, and also to hear from the Oecusse People, who are often forgotten within the socio-political community of Dili. From this perspective, FM was disappointed to experience a general negativity from within the broader Oecusse Community, and to hear many peoples’ frustrations, concerns and disappointments with the political and development process there.

Firstly, people related to FM concerns regarding their security and safety in the communities of Naktuka, Leolbatan, Suin-Sia, Baki-Tolas and some areas of the South Village – areas where the frontier is still disputed between Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Despite the ongoing tension and insecurity in these communities, the resolution of national territorial borders, the reconciliation between conflicting communities and the effective patrolling of East-Timorese territory has yet to be properly finalized and implemented (refer to our blog here for more information). It is sadly ironic that Timorese citizens live with daily insecurity in these regions, but unlike the vacant and uninhabited area within the Tasi-Mane, they receive no support from the public in the form of mass political protests and rallies in the capital Dili, have no specific website established to advocate for them, and rarely rate a mention when our leaders talk about “full national sovereignty.” Is it therefore overly cynical to think that our political leaders are more concerned with the rights of mineral resources than they are over the small peoples’ right to live free from fear and threat?

Which leads us to the separate concerns voiced to us in Oecusse regarding the competency and probity of the ZEESM TL Project’s Administration. While most people we talked to supported the ZEESM TL concept, many people also related to FM their anger regarding its implementation, its affects on their livelihoods, the lack of local benefits, and their belief in widespread nepotism and corruption in its financial management. It is true that many of these claims are anecdotal, however a recent review from the Provedoria dos Direitos Humanos e Justiça (PDHJ) has confirmed that two ZEESM Projects, the road-widening (Alargamentu Estrada) and Irrigation Network (Barazen Tono), have indeed resulted in suffering by members of the community in regards to losses of homes and livelihoods, and highlighted the failures of the ZEESM TL Authority to properly consult, socialize and partner with the local community.

The separate accusations of financial impropriety and nepotism have been strongly denied by the President of the Authority, Dr Mari Alkatiri, who has suggested a political agenda for his accusers who have “allied with the devil”. He has also pointed to the fact that the Comissão Nacional Aprovizionamentu has reviewed and cleared him of any irregularities.

Without clear evidence of these claims, Dr. Alkatiri is entitled to a presumption of innocence, and he is also probably correct in suggesting a political agenda is at play. However, it is also important to acknowledge that even false accusations or rumors of impropriety can generally only arise when there exists legitimate community frustrations and inadequate public transparency in Government.

The financial scope of the ZEESM TL initiative, amounting this year to 218 million dollars (roughly equivalent to the entire spending on National Health and Education combined), the exclusion of this funding from the Government’s regular procurement and accountability systems, and the broad Czar-like powers provided to its unelected President and Advisory Council means that the East-Timorese people should have every right to be suspicious, particularly when they don’t see any benefits of projects within their community. Therefore, rather than dismissing them, the President of the Authority should acknowledge such suspicions are the direct result of the Authority’s own failures to implement open and transparent governance, and immediate seek to better engage with the community.

Instead of calling those who accuse him of nepotism as being “allied with the devil” could he instead command the ZEESM TL Authority to produce regular financial reports and presentations for the public showing clearly how and where their money was spent? Instead of saying that the negative commentary is just “politics in the lead-up to the 2017 election” could he instead increase the level of public consultation and discussion within communities surrounding the Projects – recognizing, documenting and resolving the peoples’ concerns?

As we approach the election in 2017 there will no doubt be many more accusations hurled between politicians in an attempt to stir up the people and win power, but the way responsible politicians must respond is not by throwing the insults back, but rather to increase public openness, transparency and accountability, and further engage with the public through consultation and education – or as ZEESM TL itself has declared in its strategic goals, “Include every Timorese family as a participant or shareholder in the development process.”

To this end FM once again calls for greater public transparency, accountability from public institutions and our political leaders, and the adoption of rational, evidence-based debate in the politics of Timor-Leste.

Furthermore, FM recommends that:

1. The Government accelerate its negotiations on the demarcation of the border lines in order to minimize conflict between communities in the border areas in Oecusse. The Government should also facilitate local reconciliation processes for the communities on both sides in order to settle grievances and tensions across borders.

2. Both the ZEESM TL Authority and the Government acknowledge and respond to the PDHJ’s Review, outlining how they will implement its recommendations, particularly in regards to increasing the level of community engagement and Parliamentary oversight with ZEESM TL Projects.

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