The view from Dili
By Max Lane
DILI — Burned-out buildings and people on foot — these were the immediate impressions of East Timor's capital when I arrived on November 4 for a 36-hour visit. Jakarta-backed militias had done enormous damage with just matches and petrol.
Many buildings were just shells and many more fire-damaged, the timber frames, roof beams and other parts of the house destroyed. The militias had also destroyed or stolen much of the transportation available in Dili. Trucks, cars, motor bikes, even bicycles had either been stolen and carried off to West Timor or set on fire.
There were a few trucks that survived and a couple of minibuses that were being used by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Enterprising Timorese had reassembled or repaired a few damaged motorbikes and had managed to get a few taxis going. But the streets were bare of vehicles, except for the shiny new Land Rovers and trucks of the UN and the big charity organisations. The whole city was on its feet, moving or milling.
The schools have not reopened, so there are large numbers of young people moving around the city on foot. Some have been mobilised by community organisations or have found work for the UN agencies or the international charity organisations. But many have nothing to do.
Basic services like electricity and water appear to be slowly returning. Everyone criticises the slowness of the UN operations, and there are still reports of extreme scarcities of food and medicines in more remote villages. Inadequate commitment of emergency funds from the member nations of the UN, including Australia, is the cause of this slowness.
The Dili market has reopened, farmers bringing in local agricultural produce and some meat. More vegetables are being sold on the footpath, but the amounts still appear inadequate. There are fears that if seeds do not arrive from outside soon, crops will not be planted before the wet season.
Social tensions
While basic services slowly creep back into existence, the social tensions are growing. The UN and charity agencies are now major employers. East Timorese cannot but help notice the huge wage disparities between Timorese and non-Timorese staff. In almost all cases, it is the non-East Timorese who is the boss — the first experience of many Timorese after their victory over the Indonesian military was being ordered around by UN or charity administrators.
There is also tension because not everybody is able to find employment with these agencies. In many cases, preference is given to English speakers, which means that jobs go to Timorese coming back from Australia. UN and charity agency employment appears likely to change the structure of East Timorese society, a process which is already creating resentment.
Under Portuguese rule, a number of families, many with ties to Portugal, had developed considerable wealth and land-holdings, including coffee plantations. Traditional hereditary leaders also owned land. These two privileged layers sit on top of the mass of ordinary East Timorese, who are small farmers, some virtually only subsistence farmers, or waged employees in the towns.
During Jakarta's occupation, a large number of office workers were employed by Indonesian government departments.
During the Portuguese period, the mass of ordinary people were often referred to as "maubere" by the Portuguese as an insult, like calling them "the rabble". The word took on a progressive meaning during the struggle for independence from Portugal, and was popularised by Fretilin as a term of pride to refer to the awakening mass of oppressed and exploited East Timorese.
East Timorese politics was very divided: the privileged provided the leadership for the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT), who wished to maintain some form of association with Portugal. Fretilin drew its leadership from the less well-off but still educated — teachers, journalists, public employees and peasant farmers — and wanted total independence from Portugal.
They vied for popular support. By the time of the Indonesian invasion in December 1975, Fretilin was the largest party. Both UDT and Fretilin are now members of the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), headed by Xanana Gusmao.
These social layers, and frictions, continue to exist. Some of the wealthy families also prospered during the period of Indonesian occupation and now aim to maintain their position. Struggle for land and property is key to this.
In the absence of established government, the overall picture is unclear. But even in a period of 36 hours, you couldn't help but feel this process going on.
In one instance, I was visiting an office being used by Timorese grassroots activists. All of a sudden, a young woman dressed in army trousers and a fashion top entered the building accompanied by a UN police officer. She was from one of the wealthiest families in Dili.
She told the young activists that the land they were on, and all the surrounding land, belonged to her family and that she wanted it back.
She then went in and out of people's houses in the neighbourhood, still accompanied by the police officer, to tell them the same thing. She claimed that her actions had the approval of Leandro Isaacs, the vice-president of UDT and a spokesperson for the CNRT. The activists were unable to verify this claim by the time I left Dili.
There are many similar stories going around.
Maubere consciousness
It is not surprising, then, that there remains a strong sentiment for reaffirming the November 1975 proclamation of independence which established the Democratic Republic of East Timor (DRET), which was inspired by the egalitarian spirit of Fretilin's struggle.
I was unable to meet with Fretilin leaders during my short stay in Dili, but I did meet leaders and activists of the Socialist Party of Timor (PST). The PST's secretary-general, Avelino da Silva, has been appointed to the CNRT Transitional Council, a kind of inner cabinet, headed by Xanana Gusmao.
The PST's activists are very much inspired by this original spirit of commitment to the Maubere masses. In fact, some former Fretilin leaders and guerilla fighters have joined the PST, along with many younger people. A symbol of this commitment to the masses has become the original red, black and yellow flag of the DRET.
Even during the Indonesian occupation, the PST began efforts to resurrect the tradition of agricultural cooperatives among the small coffee farmers that Fretilin pioneered in 1974-5. These cooperatives allow the smaller farmers to cut out the middle man and provide some extra cash for the farmers and for the cause.
With meagre material resources, the PST has also started free English language classes for anybody who wants them. With so many foreigners wielding influence in Dili now, English is a survival tool.
Dealing with the UN
The formal status of the United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET) is that of a dictatorship. The UNTAET head will be responsible only to the UN secretary-general and UN Security Council.
East Timor's formal status is now that of a non-self-governing territory under UN administration. There are no formal mechanisms to make the UN accountable to the East Timorese. There have already been reports of disputes between the UN and CNRT on the allocation of public buildings, as well as over lack of consultation on key policy questions.
"While ever it remains necessary to have UNTAET", Avelino da Silva told me, "we must have a 'one table, two chairs policy'". He said that every major decision maker in the UN structure must have an East Timorese counterpart appointed by the East Timorese political leadership. "We must be in on every decision and be able to impact on every decision."
So far no such mechanisms or anything similar have been established. There are supposed to be local elections in 12-18 months' time for East Timorese to work with UN district administrators.
The PST aims to build stronger popular organisations, through its own party as well as through the establishment of rural cooperatives and trade unions. Da Silva's view is that, whatever consultative mechanisms may be established, only popular power can ensure their effectiveness.
Many people are waiting to see if Fretilin, or CNRT as a whole, takes a similar position.
With social tension and political dissatisfaction increasing, if no mechanism is found to democratise the UN administration, it is likely that many East Timorese will decide that it is necessary to abandon the technical and financial aid that comes with UNTAET and campaign for an early transition to full independence, rather than in two to three years.