Dili, 19 September 2001

NEW EAST TIMORESE GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED TOMORROW

The new all-East Timorese Council of Ministers of the Second Transitional Government, which will replace the current Transitional Cabinet, will be sworn-in tomorrow morning in Dili.

This second Transitional Government and its Council of Ministers will govern East Timor during the remaining transitional period before the independence of a democratic and sovereign state.

This Transitional Government will see its powers reinforced, formulating programs and policies for the Public Administration and supervising it, and recommending to the Transitional Administrator the promulgation of legislation, all of this in close consultation with the Transitional Administrator who retains the ultimate executive and legislative authority, in accordance with Resolution 1272 of the Security Council, which established UNTAET.

Furthermore, a Public Administration of East Timor will be formally established, implementing the programs and policies of the Council of Ministers, a body now totally composed of Timorese members, broadly reflecting the results of the election that took place on 30 August.

OVER 300 COVALIMA REFUGEES RETURN FROM WEST TIMOR

More than 300 refugees returned from camps in Indonesian West Timor today in a process facilitated by independence leader Xanana Gusmão, UNTAET's Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran and former pro-autonomy leader Hélio Moniz Caetano.

"This is another big day in which we welcome our brothers and sisters from West Timor," Xanana Gusmão said at the border crossing of Salele in Covalima district today, adding that all efforts must be put into helping the returnees start a new life. "This process will continue until all refugees are back."

The return, in which UNTAET, the International Organization for Migration and UNHCR played a crucial part, follows a border meeting held in Salele last month between Gusmão and Covalima elders with leaders of the Covalima refugees.

"This shows the world that the Indonesian police and military support this process," the Police Chief of East Timor's neighbouring Indonesian province of NTT (East Nusa Tenggara) Jacki Uly, said today, adding that he expects all refugees to eventually return.

Xanana Gusmão held a separate meeting with five former members of the Laksaur militia and the deputy commander of the Mahidi militia Nemésio Lopes de Carvalho.

"I asked them to return," Xanana Gusmão said. He stressed that they would have to face justice if found guilty of any atrocities, but that their safety would be ensured.

Nemésio Lopes de Carvalho told reporters that he plans to return to East Timor with his followers on 17 October.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff will be continuing discussions with political and militia/pro-autonomy/pro-integration leaders with a view to promoting reconciliation and negotiating further refugee returns. As in the past, the Chief of Staff is only conducting negotiations with those refugees not under indictment for serious crimes.

WORKSHOP ON FUTURE OF DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS

Starting tomorrow, a National Workshop will be held on roles and functions of the Suco (village) and Posto (sub-district) Development Councils - the local institutions whose members have been democratically elected by the community - in order to provide discussion material on local governance structures for the Constitutional Assembly.

The aim of the two-day workshop, to be held in Ermera district, is also to share information with the Councils and other parties involved in the project regarding community payments through the Councils, facilitated by the Community Empowerment and Local Governance Project (CEP), an UNTAET project administered by the World Bank.

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello will participate, as well as independence leader Xanana Gusmão and the Head of the National Planning and Development Agency Emília Pires. Other participants include Council representatives, local community and political party leaders, donors, NGO and Church representatives.

There are 418 Suco Councils and 60 Posto Councils throughout East Timor.

Different reports are currently being finalized which will add input to the work of the Constituent Assembly. Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello yesterday handed over the Constitutional Commission reports, containing input from tens of thousands of East Timorese on what they would like to be considered by the Constituent Assembly when drafting a Constitution.

(Please find attached an executive summary of the Constitutional Commission reports)


CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARINGS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


Introduction

Under Directive no. 2001/3, a Constitutional Commission in each of the 13 districts was established for the purpose of soliciting the views of the people of East Timor on the future Constitution of and independent and democratic East Timor. To obtain the views of the people, each of the Constitutional Commissions was required to conduct at least one public hearing in each of the 65 sub-districts. Furthermore, people's views could also be obtained through other means such as written reports to the Commissions. In advance of the public hearings the Commissions informed and familiarized the sub-districts of the objectives of the constitutional consultation process and the main constitutional issues facing East Timor. Each of the 13 Constitutional Commissions was required to prepare a written report for submission to the Constituent assembly. The thirteen Constitutional Commissions comprising five to seven Commissioners, one Advisor and one Rapporteur carried out a total of 212 public hearings between 18 June and 14 July 2001. Some 38,000 people attended hearings throughout the country - almost 10% of the electorate. Some 10 - 15% of the attendees participated through presentation of their own views or on behalf of a village.

The Advisors and Commissioners began the public hearing by explaining the basic elements of a Constitution, taking time to clarify those topics, which were new to the participants. This was followed by open discussion of the topics raised. Some hearings took the form of a single large discussion group whereas other hearings were broken down into smaller groups. The Commissioners and Advisors gave further advice and assistance where necessary.

All the hearings were tape-recorded and the information recorded was then used by the Rapporteurs to prepare reports on each of the hearings. The tape recordings were subsequently archived for use by the Constituent Assembly in the preparation of the Constitution. From these public hearing reports each district produced one final District Report. These reports were handed to the Transitional Administrator on 16th August for presentation to the Constituent Assembly at their inaugural sitting.

The process was carried out entirely by East Timorese people, from selection of the Commission members through to preparation of the final reports. A sentiment repeated in many of the final reports is that the Constitution is such an important document that it should be circulated and socialized in all the districts before it is ratified.


Summary of the views expressed at the public hearings


The Nation

The right of the East Timorese nation to choose its own fate as an independent State was a recurrent view throughout the districts. National sovereignty went along with the right to self-determination, with some districts putting forward the idea of territorial sovereignty, and some others proposing that the land borders should coincide with the historical borders established during Portuguese colonial rule. The Popular Consultation of 30 August 1999 was seen as a landmark in the road to independence. The view held by many is that after 450 years of Portuguese colonial rule and 24 years of Indonesian military occupation the East Timorese people have already suffered too much. The Constitution will pave the way for a new and prosperous country in the third millennium.

Name

Many feel that East Timor does not need a new name, and that The Democratic Republic of East Timor (Republic Demokratik Timor Loro Sa'e), the name used on 28 November 1975 to proclaim independence, should now be recognized. Some felt that the word "democratic" should be removed as being too socialist. Perhaps the most popular choice of name was The Republic of Timor Lorosae (Republik Timor Loro Sa'e), to reflect a small country with a small population but with a strong sense of unity. In some districts Timor Leste was favored, to represent the historical influence of Portugal, and in others Negara Timor Loro Sa'e.

System of Government and Head of State

There was almost equal support for presidential and semi-presidential systems. It is fair to say that the majority of the people wish to have a president directly elected by the people for 4-5 years of office, with possible re-election for a second term. Beyond this there is no clear view about the most suitable system of government for East Timor.

The arguments for a presidential system were that power should be concentrated in the hands of a directly elected President, bearing in mind that in a relatively new country such as East Timor, with many social and political instabilities, the executive power should be concentrated in the hands of a powerful president committed to peace, stability and above all national unity. Furthermore, this system would provide for efficient and timely decisions.

A semi-presidential system would however spread the burden of responsibility between President and Prime Minister. It was proposed that if a semi-presidential system were adopted then members of parliament should also be chosen as cabinet members. There was much debate in all the districts around this particular issue. Those arguing in favor of a semi-presidential system felt that it would promote valuable power sharing and co-operation between an elected president and the Prime Minister, and it would prevent corruption whilst guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary.

A small number of people supported a parliamentary system as a means of regulating the activities of the President and Prime Minister.

Government Structure and Administration

De-centralized government, or broad regional autonomy, was seen as the most appropriate systems. It was suggested that the country should be divided into three or four regions for administrative purposes, with Oecussi being afforded special autonomous status, and Atauro being treated as a separate district. After an initial period of 5 years or so local government should be given wide-ranging authority to manage the affairs of their territory, though all state functionaries even below sub-district level should be paid by the state. Local funding should be based on population size rather than geographical area. Heads of government departments should be professionals, employed for their knowledge and ability to do the job; they should not have political party affiliations, which could allow corruption in the course of their duties.

Political System

It was generally agreed that a multi-party system would best allow people to choose the party most accurately representing their own views. To achieve this women should be active in politics. Coalition of smaller parties should be permitted/encouraged, though some feel that this would lead to confrontation if a coalition becomes too large and powerful. There were suggestions that general elections should be held every four or five years, and the majority opinion was that the date for holding general elections should always be 30th August in memory of the Popular Consultation of 1999.

Economy, Taxation & Investment

A free-market economy was recognized as being the most desirable. It was felt that subsidies should be paid to promote local agriculture and protect national resources against foreign exploitation. Foreign investment should be encouraged, though non-Timorese investors should only be permitted to lease land and not purchase it. Concerns were raised in the coffee-growing areas such as Ermera that the price of produce should be regulated to protect the local growers. Import of goods that can be produced in East Timor should be taxed to protect the national economy and encourage the people to buy local produce. Some districts were of the opinion that taxes collected centrally should be re-directed to the districts they originated from; others felt that such taxes should be distributed more evenly and used to benefit the country as a whole.

Language

There was overwhelming support for Tetun as national language, though it was widely recognized that a period of 5-10 years should be spent to develop and standardize it before it can also become the official language. Portuguese should in the meantime be the official language, but Indonesian and English should also be taught in schools for use in business (with Indonesia and other ASEAN countries) and to promote international relations. A few people indicated that English could be the official language or Indonesian. In all of the districts where a local language or dialect is currently spoken, it was seen as important that those local languages should also be encouraged and preserved.

Citizenship

To promote a strong sense of national identity, citizenship was seen as an important issue. Dual citizenship was universally unpopular, though outsiders should have the opportunity of becoming naturalized Timorese citizens through marriage to a Timorese or long-term residence (5, 10 or 20 years) in East Timor. People from all districts voiced their support for the citizenship criteria used by UNAMET for the 1999 referendum. To have East Timorese citizenship people must be born in East Timor, or have East Timorese parents or an East Timorese spouse. In a number of districts it was felt that single citizenship should apply equally to East Timorese choosing to live abroad, so that they should be forced to make a choice to retain citizenship of East Timor or give it up in favor of that of their country of residence.

Currency

Many people supported the continued use of the US Dollar to promote stability and encourage foreign investment. There was equal support in the long term for a national currency to be called "Dollar Timor", "Murak Timor" or "Dinel Timor".

National Flag

There was equal and strong support for both the RDTL and CNRT flags, both having been used in the struggle for independence. The RDTL flag marked the birth of a sovereign state on 28 November 1975, whereas the CNRT flag is seen as symbolic of national unity and that used on 30 August 1999. An incorporation of these two flags seemed to be the most popular compromise.

National Anthem

"Foho Ramelau" and "Patria" should be translated into Tetum as the national anthem.

National Symbols

The suggestions for symbols were many and varied, but included the following in various combinations: traditional house, Mount Ramelau (as being the place of the ancestors), a traditional sword, spear or dagger (symbolizing the long struggle for independence), cotton, rice, island of Timor, crocodile (representing the shape of the island of Timor, as well as images from popular mythology), dove (representing peace, or the holy spirit delivering news of peace), rooster (representative of Portuguese times), images of people in traditional dress (representing the cultural society), the bible or cross (representing importance of religion), the sun.

Traditional Law and Values

There was wide support for the continued use of traditional forms of law making and law-enforcement to complement conventional laws. The role of the "Adat" (unwritten customary law) in relation to the state justice system was a common topic. The people, in general, emphasised that the preservation of "Adat' should be reflected in the future constitution. It was proposed that customary law should be applied to regulate local matters, and that traditional authorities should have a prominent role in solving local disputes and conflicts. Biti Boot Tradisional (a method of ending disputes whilst seated on a traditional weave mat) is a method recognized as effective and therefore deserving of protection in the constitution. Furthermore, the future role of the traditional authority was another topic that was widely raised at the hearings and proposed to be reflected in the constitution.

Defence and Security

It was widely felt that FDTL (Defence Force Timor Lorosae) should be responsible for external and border security, whereas TLPS (Timor Lorosae Police Service) should be concerned with internal matters. In the border international forces handle districts some people suggested that border security should, at least for the time being. In many districts people felt that national security was a matter for the whole country, and in this regard military service should be compulsory for every citizen for a period of three years. It was also suggested that active members of the army and police force should not be allowed to hold office in the government.

Human Rights Issues

While there was a great deal of discussion on human rights issues, and particularly the rights of women, it was widely felt that these should be based on the universal principles of the declaration of the United Nations Charter of 10 December 1948. Women were widely represented at many of the hearings and spoke out clearly against domestic violence and oppression, prohibition against polygamy, and for equal rights and opportunities for all.

Amendment of the Constitution

Some felt that the Constitution should only be changed after public consultation or agreement of 2/3 of the legislature, or a period of 50 or 100 years. The view of some districts is that this Constituent Assembly should try to accommodate the input of as many people as possible during the original drafting process, so that expensive consultation and amendment will not be necessary. Others feel that this Constitution should be called a Temporary Constitution for East Timor, and should take effect for a period of only 5 years after which it should be amended.



Constitutional Affairs Branch,
Office of Political Affairs, UNTAET
Dili, September, 2001