Also speeches by Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri and Brig. General Taur Matan Ruak

14 Jan 02 13:39 East Timor: Fisheries Sector Gets Boost from Portuguese Patrol Boats

East Timor´s chief minister, Mari Alkatiri, has estimated that fisheries revenues could bring Dili´s coffers "millions of dollars" once its fledgling navy is able to oversee the territory´s exclusive maritime economic zone.

Alkatiri´s remarks came Saturday at a ceremony during which Portuguese Defense Minister Rui Pena delivered two patrol boats, the first vessels of East Timor´s self-defense forces.

"We need to develop our fisheries sector and to patrol our waters to avoid the continuation of illegalities and the exploitation of our resources without benefit for our people", Alkatiria said.

During the ceremony in Dili, Admiral Vieira Matias, the chief of staff of the Portuguese Navy, honored the head of the territory´s self-defense forces, Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, making him a "honorary admiral" of the Portuguese fleet.

SAS -Lusa-

Alkatiri Speech

GABINETE DO GOVERNO DE TRANSIÇÃO CHEFE DO GOVERNO

ADDRESS BY MR. MARI ALKATIRI
Chief Minister, Second Transitional Government of East Timor

On the occasion of the Offering of the Two Patrol Boats to the ETDF Naval Component

Dili, 12 January 2002

Mr. Sérgio Vieira de Mello, SRSG and Transitional Administrator

Mr. Francisco Guterres, President of the Constituent Assembly and Brother Lu-Olo,

Dr. Rui Pena, Minister for Defense of Portugal and members of his staff

Most Reverend Bishop Belo D. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo,

Distinguished Members of the Constituent Assembly,

Distinguished Members of the Transitional Government,

PKF Commander General Winai Phattiyakul,

Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, Commander of the East Timor Defense Force,

Ambassador Pedro Moitinho de Almeida, Head of the Portuguese Diplomatic Mission in East Timor

Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Dear Guests,

Representatives of the Media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My first words are to Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak for the beautiful words he addressed and the tribute paid to the Women of our country. The in-depth analysis on the need of a naval component and the political decision to establish it were made before this Government was sworn-in. Allow me to seize this opportunity to address our Brother Xanana Gusmão for his decisive role in the strategic definition of the naval component of our Defense Force.

There is no doubt that the political and strategic decision was made by the East Timorese. However, it is equally unquestionable that the decision would not have been implemented if Portugal had not agreed to present ETDF with two patrol boats - Oecussi e Atauro and train its members who will operate the boats. The ETDF naval component was considered from the beginning a political and strategic issue but also of economic importance. The political reasons are visible although the economic ones are not always as clear.

In a period when our country is dependant on donor finance, some studies show that East Timor could be contributing with millions of dollars if it had the capacity to control its maritime resources. Illegal fishing in our Exclusive Economic Zone is still a reality as East Timor is unable to issue fishing licenses and enforce its maritime rights.

The East Timorese have become accustomed to looking towards the sea as a potential source of income only from petroleum and gas. However, the wealth of our country and its potential to diversify its income stream is far wider. We need to further develop the fishery sector and build our enforcement capacity through the patrolling of our coastal waters. At the same time we will also be able to avoid the illegal exploration of our resources without the benefit to our People. On the other hand, we will also be giving a concrete contribution in the struggle against illegal traffic of drugs, arms and people smuggling.

I would like to refer to the role played by Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Ramos-Horta, during the Second Donors Conference on Defence, held in June 2001, to clarify the reasons for our vehement insistence on the constitution of our naval component.

The political and economical options for the East Timor leadership are clear, and within a couple of months the major guidelines of our National Development Plan will be communicated to our population and the International Community. Although this is a Transitional Government and our State is not yet fully structured, I would like to highlight that our policies on Defence as in other areas, are being clearly outlined and made public.

We are committed to and will further develop the links that unite us to the Portuguese Speaking Countries within the scope of CPLP. In the Defense Sector these links are also being developed. We are witnesses to an example of such a cooperation and assistance here today. In addition, East Timor has participated for the first time in the CPLP Ministerial Summit of Ministers for Defense and, furthermore, ETDF has been invited to participate this year in the CPLP annual military exercises to take place in Angola.

We are committed to this co-operation and the development of this relationship. However, our history and experience have taught that we can not be isolated and least of all within our region. We are a small country and as such, East Timor will have to ensure its security by establishing agreements with its neighbours. I am of the conviction that a long lasting Peace can only be possible if we can build frank and constructive relationships with our neighbours.

This is how we envisage the future of our country. And this the way we will contribute to Peace in our region.

I have previously referred to the fact that it was not easy for the international community to initially understand the reasons for our insistence in the naval component of ETDF. Allow me, however, to make a special reference to the role played by the SRSG and Transitional Administrator, Dr. Sérgio Vieira de Mello, who ensured a regular and on-going dialogue with the East Timorese and understood our political, strategic and economic reasons. This understanding was translated into an unequivocal support to our decision.

In ending I wish to, once again, express our Thank you to Portugal. Portugal understood our arguments in defense of our national interests and enabled us to implement them.

East Timor has been assisted regularly and in many ways by Portugal. For this, we express our gratitude. However, in this specific case, I feel that all and every ‘Thank You’ addressed to Portugal will have to be translated in the performance of ETDF members selected for the naval component.

I will end with an appeal to you members of ETDF to commit yourselves to this training with discipline and pride. Your outcome, the acquisition of knowledge and the skills gained with it are of utmost importance fro our country. You will be the bearers of our ‘Thank You’ for the ‘Oecussi’ and ‘Atauro’ patrol boats.

Thank you

Força de Defesa de Timor-Leste

ADDRESS BY BRIGADIER GENERAL TAUR MATAN RUAK

On the occasion of the Offering of the Two Patrol Boats to the ETDF Naval Component

Dili, 12 January 2002

Mr. Sérgio Vieira de Mello, SRSG and Transitional Administrator

Mr. Francisco Guterres, President of the Constituent Assembly and Brother Lu-Olo,

Mr. Mari Alkatiri, Chief Minister, Second Transitional Government of East Timor

Dr. Rui Pena, Minister for Defense of Portugal and members of his staff

Most Reverend Bishop Belo D. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo,

Distinguished Members of the Constituent Assembly,

Distinguished Members of the Transitional Government,

PKF Commander General Winai Phattiyakul,

Ambassador Pedro Moitinho de Almeida,

Head of the Portuguese Diplomatic Mission in East Timor

Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Dear Guests,

Representatives of the Media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

ETDF Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers!

Oecussi and Atauro! These are the two names chosen for the two patrol boats presented by Portugal to East Timor.

The names were not chosen by chance. Oecussi is the cradle of our nation and as an integral part of our country a special tribute is long overdue; Atauro, the beautiful island before us, is a symbol of the island identity of East Timor and can only be seen from Dili after our eyes sail across this see before us. I would like to express our appreciation to Maun Boot Xanana Gusmão for the time spent with us to analyze the strategic importance of the naval component and for suggesting the choice of these two names for the boats.

Allow me to briefly highlight some of the most important initiatives taken by Portugal in supporting the East Timor Defense Force.

Portugal played a significant role in the very concept of the Defense Force. At a time in which the international community had difficulty in understanding the role to be carried out by FALINTIL and much was being said on the need to disband and disarm our national liberation army, Portugal did not once hesitate to discuss with us the study we had drafted earlier and, later support it with a subsequent study carried out by the National Defense Auditor’s Association and the Higher Institute of Military Studies. From that point on we started to elaborate a plan for the establishment of the future defense force of our country.

Once the international community accepted the establishment of the Defense Force with former FALINTIL guerrilla soldiers as its embryo and adopted the guidelines in the King´s College study, Portugal responded again to our appeal for assistance in selecting and recruiting the future ETDF soldiers. The next stage required basic training of the new recruits. Portugal sent a team of experts to this effect and initiated the Basic training Courses in Aileu. These courses ended recently in the new Nicolau Lobato Training School in Metinaro.

Portugal is again worthy of our gratitude and this time it is for an historic and very special reason.

The interests of our country and the territorial constraints arising from the fact that it is a half-island with an enclave, a small island and an islet, inevitably compel us to look towards the sea with a strategic perspective. The political leadership of our country presented and underscored this strategic importance and the national interests of East Timor in its discussions with Portugal. Such interests were clearly understood by Portugal which responded with the donation of these two Oecussi class patrol boats.

This offering by Portugal of two patrol boats is the starting point of the naval component of the East Timor Defense Force. The training of ETDF members who will be integrated in the naval component will begin immediately and will end by 20 May 2002 on the day of the transfer of power from UNTAET to the East Timorese. The first of February is the day of the East Timor Defense Force. As of today, the 12 of January will become the day of the ETDF naval component.

My closing words are directed to the two godmothers - Birali and Fernanda Borges - of our patrol boats Oecussi e Ataúro.

The choice of godmothers is not an easy task particularly when in East Timor, the women have played and continue to play an unquestionably major role in determining the future of our country. However, the ETDF had to make a well founded choice.

Our two sisters represent two fronts of our struggle and two generations in our history. From its onset, Birali was involved in the armed resistance struggle until the very end. Through her we wish to pay tribute to all the Mothers, Sisters and Daughters of our country who cherished, encouraged and fed us and inspired us with their heroism, their determination, perseverance, tenacity and love. On the other hand, Fernanda studied and graduated in a college in Australia. She left East Timor as a young child and returned carrying the tool our country most needs in this new historic stage: specialized knowledge and skills that will enable the organization and development of our Nation so as to ensure that poverty is eradicated and contribute to raising the living standards of our People. Through our Sister Fernanda we want to send out a clear message that we are already looking towards the future.

This historic diversity is the basis of our greatest wealth. We have before us two women with almost opposite backgrounds whose added experiences further increase the riches of East Timor.

Thank you Birali and Fernanda for having agreed to be the Godmothers of our two patrol boats, Oecussi and Atauro.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for your presence.

Back to January menu
December
World Leaders Contact List
Human Rights Violations in East Timor
Main Postings Menu