Timor-Leste International and Local Media Monitoring March 17, 2004

Antara

Wiranto explores possibility of coalition with Gus Dur

Gen (ret) Wiranto, one of the Golkar Party`s presidential hopefuls, acknowledged that his last meetings with former President KH Abdurrahman Wahid, or better known as Gus Dur, were held in an attempt to form a coalition. "In the meetings, we talked about possible formats to solve the country`s problems," Wiranto said after he, along with Surya Paloh, another Golkar Party presidential aspirant, attended a campiagn rally at the Merdeka field here on Tuesday. On the meetings with Gus Dur, he further said, they were still exploratory in nature.

Timor Post

IRI have not yet decided to change the characters on the book

The Program Director of International Republican Institute (IRI), Deborah White, said that the IRI hasn't yet made a decision about whether to change the characters in the book about parliament and democracy. Ms White said was not IRI's intention to offend people, but the book was designed to contribute to civic education. Meanwhile the Vice-Minister for Education, Rosalia Corte Real, said that her Ministry will not support or allow IRI to distribute the controversial book. She said that IRI never consulted the Ministry of Education about the book content or let the Ministry know about the launch. (The illustrations in the book caused controversy as it presented parliamentarians as monkey's).

Aid to Timor explains Australia as terror target

Australia has become a potential target of Islamic extremists more for its military intervention in East Timor in 1999 than for its support of the US-led invasion of Iraq, a former Australian intelligence chief said Tuesday. "I don't believe that our later involvement in Iraq significantly altered the idea they had of us, that we are a country contrary to their interests and meriting terrorist attacks", Nigel Fergus said in an interview with Australia's ABC radio.

KBH campaigns for children protection

The facilitator for local organization Kilbur Buka Hatene (increase awareness of issues - KBH), Elias dos S. Fernandes, said that the organization is campaigning throughout the community to raise awareness of children's rights and child protection. He said that the awareness campaign started in November 2003 and will end March 2004. Mr Fernandes said that the project was financed by UNICEF with an amount of USD$ 20,000.

STL

Al-Qaeda "angry over East Timor"

Australia was a potential al-Qaeda target because of its intervention in East Timor, a former Olympics intelligence chief said. Neil Fergus, who was in charge of intelligence for the Sydney Olympics, said he did not believe that Australia's involvement in the Iraq war had made it a more likely terrorist target. But Mr Fergus said Australia's 1999 military intervention in East timor, after East Timor voted for independence from predominantly Muslim Indonesia, had angered al-Qaeda.

Lottery determines which homes will receive lighting from Inverell aid project

The people of Ermera Province, East Timor have conducted a lottery to decide who will receive solar-power lighting as part of an Inverell Rotary Club international aid mission. The light has already landed on the Dili docks with the Rotary team due in the capital in a little more than a week. The team will leave Inverell for Darwin on Thursday week before jumping off to Dili and making the journey up into the mountainous of Ermera area. Ermera includes the villages of Samalete, Delesuan and Railako, the sites of the Rotary Club's work on medical centres, schools and community centres during the team's first visit in June 2002. The lights were sought by village representatives to assist children studying after school. There is no main power infrastructure in the area, a result of the Indonesian pull-out of East Timor in 1999. The team will install 150 lights; that's about one for every four homes spread around the villages.

PSD will honour PM Alkatiri if he did not received any money

A member of Social Democratic Party (PSD) in the National Parliament, João Goncalves, said that his party will honour the Prime Minister if the court shows the Prime Minister is not guilty of allegedly taking bribe from ConocoPhillips. He said that if the accusation is false, PSD will stand by the Prime Minister Dr Mari Alkatiri. Mr Goncalves said that PSD will demand the company that have accused the Prime Minister to clear his name.

Internews facilitates media Law reform in East Timor

As the new country of Timor-Leste develops its own brand of democracy and governance, the media sector is advocating for the inclusion of contemporary principles of freedom of expression and a free media in line with commitments promised in the country's March 2002 Constitution. Internews is assisting the media by facilitating an ongoing series of meetings and providing access to international advice and best practice media regulatory models in press law and broadcast legislation. A working group of journalists and legal consultants from a cross-section of media outlets is drafting best practice media laws to present to Parliament and key community and media interest groups in Timor-Leste over the coming year.

Jose Filipe External Affairs World Bank, Dili Office Ph: 723 0554 Tel: 332 4649 Email: ffilipe@worldbank.org

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