In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

As Asia’s youngest and poorest country, Timor-Leste has had a turbulent start. Since establishing independence in 2002, the nation has experienced periodic bouts of serious instability, including the February 11th near-fatal attack on President Jose Ramos-Horta and the unsuccessful attack on Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and violent unrest in 2006 that was compounded by open warfare between the military and the police.

To provide The Asia Foundation with an in-depth update on the current situation and progress since independence, the Honorable Hans G. Klemm, U.S. Ambassador to Timor-Leste, visited Foundation headquarters on October 2nd. While the challenges to improve access to basic needs such as health, education, and economic opportunity are daunting, Ambassador Klemm cited several promising signs. The coordinated effort to establish a joint command between Timor-Leste’s police and military immediately following the assassination attempts in early 2008 led to the peaceful surrender of the fugitives and settlement of long-standing grievances about discrimination in the military.  And, compared to the 2006 violence when the government collapsed and required international intervention to restore stability, the government remained in place and functioning smoothly after the assassination attempts in 2008.  In 2007, Timor-Leste successfully conducted its first national elections as a sovereign nation and the government has worked diligently to address the most urgent issues throughout its first year in office. School attendance among the youngest Timorese has vastly increased. Approximately half of the refugee camps established after the violence in 2006 have been closed due to the successful relocation of thousands of internally displaced people to their home communities. And warming relations with its neighbor, Indonesia, have led to numerous visits to Jakarta by the President and informative exchanges on agricultural development.

In closing, the Ambassador commended groups like The Asia Foundation for its work on the ground. Since 1992, the Foundation’s programs in Timor-Leste have focused on rule of law, conflict management, human rights, international relations, legislative development, and the nationwide distribution of educational materials through its Books for Asia program. While in San Francisco, Ambassador Klemm also delivered remarks to the World Affairs Council, which was moderated by Kim Hunter, former Asia Foundation Country Representative in Timor-Leste.