Article
On the ground in Dili
IT’S 11PM THURSDAY, and it’s been quite a day.
Fortunately I came into the UN compound this morning so as to email a paper to Melbourne Uni.
Then I planned to head out to buy petrol and food stocks, but lots of shooting began right next door in the police compound and we got evacuated into the safer area of the UN barracks (further away from the police area). This was around 11am. (I say ‘fortunately’ because if I’d stayed home this morning, I’d’ve been cut off from Madhu with no possibility of me getting to the UN compound and no phone system which was overloaded.)
By 4pm we were briefed on the situation, and again at 8pm when we were told that security tours of Dili confirmed that it’s unsafe to return home. We had 3 body bags to pass to return to UNICEF offices (3 Timorese police killed by Timorese soldiers) and I gave blood (lots of others wounded in hospital, cared for by Cuban doctors). We’re bedding down for the night on sheets of cardboard we’ve found, with a snickers bar to share (mmm — supper or breakfast?).
Australian troops have secured the airport, and I guess that they’ll be more fully patrolling the streets of Dili by tomorrow (Friday), especially once others fly in. Malaysians are also arriving. Apparently there’s continuing debate between Australia and East Timor about terms of engagement and leadership. Australia (understandably) won’t agree to serve to assist Timor defence force in restoring order (they’ve been a major part of the problem). Xanana this afternoon exercised his Constitutional power to take control from PM Alkitiri, who the Australians reported being unable to find to get necessary paperwork signed.
However, at our second briefing, it was reported that the PM had rung the head of UN to point out that there are several hundred new police recruits understandably terrified of being attacked by the Timor military and seeking UN protection. Of course the UN peacekeeping mission was scaled right back last May and they’ve had enough trouble putting together an armed force to secure our compound for tonight. (Although I hasten to add that there’s no risk of UN being subject of attack, even though sections of the Timorese soldiers now believe the UN has taken the Police side in protecting them from being shot!)
We’re still hearing gunfire, but nowhere near as close as it was during the day. Our Timorese colleagues are terribly deflated. They can’t get home to be with their terrified families, and they’ve seen the total collapse of their peace, inevitably for some time to come, with lots of lingering recriminations and an uncertain capacity of Fretilin to re-form a Government. Last Saturday was their 4th anniversary of independence.
If the UN security level is raised further (very likely) then all ‘non-essential’ UN staff and dependents will be evacuated. Madhu is one of several essentials, and I’m clarifying that I can stay here with her and be assured UN protection, which seems to be the case. Anyway, we’ll wait and see what happens tomorrow.
We’re safe and UN security is taking proper precautions (but I think the UN leadership was poorly prepared for this). It’s an utterly tragic situation for the Timorese, however, and it’s hard to feel optimistic about their immediate future. And there’s still a likely 100,000 people now moved into the mountains and districts, who’ll take a lot of convincing to return home. Schooling has effectively ceased. And to cap it off, torrential rains have returned beyond end of season.
Which makes hopping onto a plane for Bali or Darwin pretty unacceptable. And, anyway, you’re probably getting better media reports than me on all this (you certainly will now that the soldiers are here).
IT’S FRIDAY EARLY afternoon (26 May) and I’m uncertain how long I have use of this PC before being called back into the more secure area of the UN compound (Obrigado Barracks).
Situation remains changeable.
We had a reasonable sleep last night (though I’d prefer my own mattress tonight to the sheet of cardboard).
We had a briefing this morning around 9am which, again, wasn’t very convincing that the UN Mission leadership was sufficiently prepared for trouble. Ramos Horta attended again and made a good speech, including an interesting reference to Mark Latham (but not by name). He made the point that Australia recently had a political leader who made a foolish but harmless statement and had to resign, and that a Portuguese minister who’d contacted the university his daughter was trying to enrol in had had to resign, and that the problems here are so much worse, that someone in the leadership (he clearly meant PM Alkitiri) will have to resign and that this will be addressed in the next day or two.
This will be good news to the Australian and US Governments and the World Bank, as he’s been rather independent in his leadership and gotten too close to China for the US’s liking. But he’s also been negligent on this issue; inexcusable, and his time is up.
I woke around 5.15 this morning with gunfire not too close, and the sound of troop aircraft coming in. About 2 hours ago there was an outbreak of gunfire outside where I was (I was outdoors on the phone at the time). Earlier (around 8am) I’d been sitting outside reading in the sun and a couple of stray bullets hit the side of the building, so it was back into the main area. Concern this morning about a possible attack by soldiers on UN due to us taking in lots of unarmed police recruits who are terrified for their lives (rightly so). This seems to me to be last-ditch internal fighting before they lose control to the international forces (which makes it all so utterly pointless), which hopefully will happen by this afternoon — I hope we can get back to our homes by this evening.
The UN cafe has run out of coffee grounds — they tried (unsuccessfully) to serve me an ‘espresso’ made from nescafe in a polystyrene cup this morning, so I’m going through caffeine withdrawal. I’m dragging out the process of reading my single out-of-date Guardian Weekly. About an hour ago we farewelled the first 3-4 UNICEF colleagues who were taken to the airport, including a lovely young Singaporean woman in my wife’s section who had to go because she’s a volunteer here. She was upset to leave the Timorese behind.
There’s presently quite a lot of shooting going on close by. Apparently 100 or so people now surrounding houses about a block from here, goodness knows who they’re associated with, but one of the houses is that of a UNICEF driver stuck here on duty and not allowed to go home to help his wife and children. The UN has no capacity to offer armed protection.
When giving blood yesterday (so many Timorese police wounded) the head of WHO was telling me how, when they tried to get World Bank support to establish a blood bank in the country they were told that a blood bank was not a priority for the people of Timor. This was some time ago, obviously, but he was still angry in recalling this, given numbers of women dying in childbirth, and others needing transfusions. So he was pleased to be able to set up a makeshift blood bank staffed by Timorese last night, all WHO’s work/training.
Anyway, I may be rambling! It’s half an hour since I started and several interruptions. Now I’m being told to move…
We are safe, and taking full precautions. I’ll write again when I can and have something to say.
Robert
First published May 27, republished with updates.