On October 22, Green Left Weekly's SAM KING and EDI RUSLAN spoke in Jakarta with NELSON CORREIA, a representative of the Socialist Party of Timor (PST), about the party's view on East Timor's new transitional government.
The PST is pushing for general multi-party elections in the shortest time frame possible. Correia said these elections should take place within the next two years, and definitely within the three-year period nominated by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Correia believes a speedy transition to an elected government is the key issue for the people of East Timor, the resolution of which is needed before other major issues can be tackled. While the PST will campaign around several policy areas while East Timor remains under UN control, it believes that policies in the interests of the Timorese can be implemented only by an elected government, not one dominated by the UN.
According to Correia, a future elected government must work closely with workers' representatives. He said the PST will be arguing for openness in all decision making: "We don't want to end up with closed-door secret meetings. The Indonesian government has just started to operate a little more openly; it would be ironic if the new East Timor did not."
The PST does not rule out accepting World Bank loans for the development of small-scale industry in East Timor, but Correia said this would have to be done in a planned and controlled way. Correia cited the inability of peasant farmers and other small commodity producers to build up sufficient resources for economic development as one reason such loans may be necessary. Small-scale agricultural production dominates economic activity in East Timor.
But he explained that the PST does not favour loans where they would displace existing small commodity producers, such as in textile manufacturing. Rather, international loans would be acceptable only when they advanced the economy in a way advantageous to the majority. Even then, Correia argued, there should be open public debate and concrete approval from the people before any international borrowing proceeds.
Correia said the PST favours nationalisation of the coffee, marble quarrying and manufacturing and forestry industries and the Timor Gap oil business. He said a new Timor Gap Treaty should be negotiated and scrutinised by the public before being signed.
The PST also favours the immediate formation of a new East Timorese army. "Until real democratic change is won in Indonesia, we need an army to safeguard our independence", Correia argued. He said such an army needs to be controlled by the people: "Even the person who holds the key to the room where the weapons are stored should be elected by the people".