Tuesday, May 30, 2006

What is happening there?

What is happening in Timor-Leste?

I’ve tried to locate the best sources to follow the development of the situation. Here’s what I’ve found so far:


Other blogs

There are also some friends of mine who have been in East Timor and are keeping blogs:

Navelfluff (Robin’s blog, multilingual)

My Own Development Odyssey (Miwako’s blog, in Japanese)

Life at SIFA (Yukiko’s blog, in Japanese)
Tags: | |

Posted by Janne at 05:51 | | Comments

Monday, May 29, 2006

Dili Days Disasterous...

Since I am no longer in Dili, I was going to end writing this blog and start a new one with a more accurate tile. However, the title words have got a whole new meaning now, so I continue with that for time being. Although I have made a couple of posts about recent violence in Dili, I didn’t comment the events frequently or extensively. It is very difficult to believe what I clearly see. Despite the reports, I remained confident that the situation would normalise soon until last Thursday when we received the shocking news that, against the agreement reached, the F-FDTL soldiers shot dead ten disarmed national police officers who were marching peacefully under UN protection (the photograph is from UNOTIL press release / Lusa). I cannot believe this happened literally in front of the building I was still working in only one month ago.

I've been in touch with many friends in Dili, but at the moment most of the expats there are busy being relocated to Darwin, and those few who are staying must be even busier. Most worrying is the situation of the Timorese friends, most of whom are supposed to stay at home or wherever it is safest in country. From the little I’ve heard, they are all alive at least.

Timor-Leste has probably got more media coverage in the Finnish media in past four days than in past four years combined. Yesterday, I was watching evening news where they showed picture material from Dili. There I sat, with a devastating feeling of watching my home burning in the television. And I also experienced the inexplicable and irrational 'I should be there now' sentiment. Had the report gone on any longer, I would probably have started to cry.

The very latest information I have is that President Xanana is leading the national effort for a peaceful end, and the international forces have got increased mandate to calm the ongoing looting and anarchy. I can only hope for the best.


Tags: | |

Posted by Janne at 04:50 | | Comments

Saturday, May 20, 2006

The world has turned upside-down!

Finland has won the Eurovison song contest. Now, this was always thought to be something as probable as pigs having wings. After more than 40 years of repeted humilation, the victory came with an utterly unconventional pice of music, 'Hard Rock Hallelujah', presented by a monster band Lordi. An as if that weren't enough, they also scored the highest points in the history of the contest. Now, I just wonder who seriously wants to listen to that sort of music... (many people, apparently). Well, judge yourself: http://www.eurovision.tv/english/finland.htm

Gone are the days that earned us the title of the Worst Music Video Ever. It is not the Armi & Danny classic Tahdon olla sulle hyvin hellä, even if sang in English (translated as I wanna love you tender) with a cunningly Finnish accent ('... you vant me tyday, put vat apout tomoRRou'), but rather the stunning coreography that takes this amazin video to the hall of fame. Watch this!
Tags: | |

Posted by Janne at 19:20 | | Comments

Happy Restoration Day, Timor-Leste!

Today, it is exactly four years since the United Nations handed over the full government of Timor-Leste to the Timorese people. By a somewhat amazing coincidence, it was also today that I met with Lady Patricia Mirrlees, wife of the Nobel laureate who was in Helsinki to receive a Doctor Honoris Causa title from the Helsinki School of Economics yesterday. It turned out that Lady Mirrlees, a great friend of Timor, had been in Dili just a couple of weeks ago. We had a long discussion especially about the importance of education in building a new country with a majority of the population being youth, along with many other things. The occasion made me feel very proud of having been contributing, with whatever tiny input, to the future of the world's newest nation. My best wishes to the people of Timor-Leste!
Tags: | |

Posted by Janne at 16:01 | | Comments

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Dili and Helsinki calmer already

I haven't been updating my blog properly for a while, so I haven't reported that it was not only Dili in turmoil, but we had some terrifying incidents here in Helsinki too. These things happened around 1st of May celebrations, which are a really big thing here, but I missed them this year because of an irritating deadline for a conference paper, set very untoughtfully to 1st of May (no cultural sensitivity there!).

Robin has been covering both Dili and Helsinki incidents in his blog, so look there. As he's promised to avoid copying and pasting any more press releases, I save him from that and put the latest press release regarding Dili situation here:


- - -

REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR-LESTE

GABINETE DO PRIMEIRO-MINISTRO
PRESS RELEASE

High Level Commission starts the hearings with the ex-military

The High Level Commission will start in the next few days the hearings for the ex-military that of the “petitioners” group. The ex-military that will be heard by the members of the commission belong to a group of 51 people that is in Maliana.

At the same time, contacts are being maintained with the other ex-military that are in the districts of Aileu, Oe-Cusse and Ermera. O Government believes that soon these men and women can be heard in connection to the work that is being developed by the Commission which has representatives from the four sovereign bodies, the Catholic Church and civil society, and whose purpose is to find the truth behind the claims made by the “petitioners” regarding life within the F-FDTL.

Contact is also being maintained between the 20 members that are a part of the F-FDTL and the Timor-Leste National Police and their respective chiefs. The Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, hopes that soon, these man can go back to their units. Until now, a harsher action against these men, forcing them to go back, has not yet been considered by the Government.

The Minister for Labour and Social Reinsertion, Arsénio Bano, delivered yesterday five tonnes of food the for the people that fled and are now in the Aileu district, and has also maintained contacts with the group of about 350 ex-military “petitioners” in order to debate over ways on how the proceed on the humanitarian and financial support that the Government intends to give to the ex-military, so as to integrate them in civil life.

Díli, May 11 2006
Tags: | |

Posted by Janne at 11:25 | | Comments