Foras Teamhrach

As prime minister in waiting, he had already declared that Australia should lead any new UN mission to East Timor. Immediately after swearing-in, Horta made another pledge to Canberra, vowing to funnel legislation through parliament ratifying the January deal with Australia over the division of proceeds from Greater Sunrise, by far the largest of the Timor Sea fields. He stated: “We cannot be known as a country that signs agreements and then doesn’t ratify them. Our credibility as a state and as a government is at stake.” Woodside of course are waiting on ratification to resume development of the gas field, which at a conservative estimate consists of $20-25 billion in reserves. The international media has hailed Horta as a consummate diplomat and was co-winner with Bishop Carlos Belo of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, an honour always awarded for service render to the major powers. [2]

Ramos-Horta expressed hostility towards Fretilin’s socialist rhetoric and in fact broke from the organization in the 1980s. Horta’s loyalty to the US and Australia was evident when he wrote an article in February 2003 for the New York Times defending the impending (illegal) invasion of Iraq.
Ramos-Horta was sworn in by Gusmao. In an open acknowledgement of his collusion in the plot, Gusmao invited Vicente “Railos” da Conceicao to the ceremony, seated among various political leaders, diplomats, Australian military officers and church representatives. It was of course, Railos’s allegations that he was head of a “hit squad” formed by Alkatiri and his interior minister that provided the basis for legal proceedings against the prime minister. [3]
The flimsy nature of the case against Alkatiri was revealed by journalist John Martinkus, who wrote of the allegations: “Other reporters had been to see this [Railos] group and some had chosen not to report it. They were located in the house of the Carrascalao family and their story didn’t seem to be true. The Carrascalaos are an established family in East Timor [and] were instrumental in the UDT [Timorese Democratic Union] party that fought a brief civil war with Fretilin in 1975 – people with axes to grind.” The fact that elements such as these were involved in the operation is of potential significance, as these tactics are similar to the Indonesian military’s “Operation Komodo” which ignited the civil war directly preceding the 1975 invasion, and gave the pretext for Indonesia to invade. In effect, it is the same operation. [4], [5], [6], [7]

The Gusmao/Horta group of Falantil fighters, politicians and disaffected elements were used in the violent clashes which have resulted in the flight of at least 150,000 refugees, have been presented in the media as ethnic tension between “easterners” and “westerners” have been involved in a plot which is at least 4 years old.
Figures like Mario Carrascalao, who functioned as governor for a decade under the Indonesian regime, were angered by the policies of the Fretilin government. Alkatiri had attempted a balancing act, while balancing the books and being “fiscally responsible,” his government refused to allow access for the outright plundering of East Timor’s immense resources. The opposition repeatedly attacked the government for not being “business friendly” and failing to provide financial incentives and infrastructure. [8]

Horta has outlined a different approach. In his acceptance speech he attacked the government’s “very slow and complicated bureaucracy” as an obstacle to foreign investment, promising to end the “bureaucratic stranglehold.” “We are going to introduce the concept of “fast track” to accelerate the execution of projects. Reinforcing the message he added: “The private and entrepreneurial sector is an indispensable pillar in the development and well-being of our country. With them we are going to find ways to offer incentives and enthuse them and facilitate their activities. The foreign investors in this country can count on this government to listen to them and to support them. We are going to better and simplify the laws and rules for the process of registration of companies. We are going to investigate the complaints about the non-payment of bills by the government.”

Ramos-Horta also indicated that the Catholic Church – intensively involved in the coup against Alkatiri, as it was in the coup against Aristide in Haiti - would have a much greater involvment in East Timorese politics in the future.
While the ministers have not yet been announced, Horta has promised an “inclusive” cabinet. This means political figures drawn from outside Fretilin, which holds the overwhelming majority of parliamentary seats. As part of the compromise with Fretilin, two of Alkatiri’s ministers – Estanislau da Silva and Rui Araujo – have been named as deputy prime ministers. Ramos-Horta will also have to include other Fretilin ministers if he is to enjoy its continued support in parliament. [9]
However, the campaign for “regime change” will not stop with the resignation of Alkatiri. On June 27th, the day after Alkatiri’s resignation, an editorial in the Australian Financial Review, entitled “Fretilin the stumbling block in East Timor”, stated that the target was not merely the former prime minister, but Fretilin itself. The editorial complained that, while the country had “turned the corner,” the parliament was still dominated by “ageing economic nationalists.” Any step forward depended on Fretilin “reforming its own views on the economy and loosening its grip on the institutions of government.” Political rhetoric is a little more forthright in Australia. [10]

Already several of the “rebel leaders” have expressed their fundamental dissatisfaction with the inclusion of any Fretilin members in the new government and declared their detemination to stage new protests. Major Augusto Araujo accused Horta of being too close to Alkatiri and Fretilin and declared that he would meet with Gusmao to demand the president dissolve parliament and calls new elections. [11]
With Fretilin potentially out of the framework, the way will be clear for East Timor to be controlled by collaborationist forces tied to Australia. The circle is almost completed: what Indonesia began, Australia is now finishing. East Timor’s oil and gas resources are open to plunder, while its overriding strategic position is secured for the United States, concerned as the latter always has been that the Timor Sea remain open to its naval forces for operations in East Asia.