The Geography of Healing: Transcending Grievances in Timor Leste (East Timor)
As the Corona Virus grips the world in panic, I share this short article about how a small country which has thus far escaped a single recorded case of the virus has managed to reconcile with its erstwhile enemies.
Among the many geographic anomalies of European colonialism are states that have found national identities in defiance of ecological integrity. In these states new fusion cultures emerged that blended indigenous traditions with the language, culture and religion of their colonial masters. Often such states have become enclaves within dominant regional nations and been subject to hegemonic overtures that have led to conflict. The African continent exemplifies such synthetic construction of borders and identities most acutely. There are three Guineas with 3 different languages linked to their colonial history — Portuguese (Bissau), Spanish (Equatorial) and French (Republic of Guinea). The Gambia exists as a riparian enclave with British colonial lineage, sandwiched between a much larger Francophone Senegal.
Within Asia, the most potent example of such a colonial enclave that led to the establishment of one of the world’s youngest countries is Timor Leste. The Portuguese colonized the Eastern part of the large island of Timor while the Dutch maintained control over the Western part that eventually became Indonesia. Once the tide of decolonization spread through the region in the heyday of the Cold War, there was a rush by both communist and capitalist forces to claim their turf in the nascent nations that were emerging. Thus ostensible freedom was often fleeting for the young nations that emerged as was the case with the Portuguese departure from Timor in 1978. The local forces that had struggled for independence during the colonial sunset had mildly Marxist leanings. Indonesia, which had gained independence from the Dutch a few years earlier, was ruled at the time with the staunchly capitalist dictator Suharto.
The prospect of a Marxist leaning state in the heart of the Indonesian archipelago with close proximity to Australia was enough justification for Suharto to invade the fledgling state of Timor Leste only six months after its independence. What followed for the next two decades was a brutal reign of terror by the Indonesian government which by some estimates led to one-fifth of the country’s population killed through violence or starvation. Australia was among the few countries to directly recognize the Indonesian annexation of Timor Leste during this period though eventually reversed course. Other capitalist powers such as the United States gave initial tacit approval while noting the need for a peace process and exerting pressure much later.
Looming over Dili, the capital of Timor, Leste, is a 27 meter high statue of Christ which was ironically constructed during the Indonesian occupation to recognize Indonesia as a pluralist state with multiple religions (the height was to indicate the status of the territory as the 27th province of Indonesia). The tourist mecca of Bali had long been heralded as a Hindu island within the world’s largest Muslim country by population. Suharto wanted to showcase the same for Timore Leste as a Catholic bastion and came to the opening of the statue in 1996.
When populist uprisings ousted the dictator in 1998 his successor, B.J. Habibie showed a willingness to engage with the international community in furthering a peace plan for the island. A referendum was agreed upon on independence and administered by the United Nations in 1999. The results led to a 78.5 % vote in favor of independence and Habibie agreed to the outcome. While the Nobel Peace Prize committee had only recognized Timorese leaders Jose Ramos Horta and Carlos Ximenes in its award in 1996, the people of the new nation state did not forget Habibie’s leadership towards peace. They did not let their grievances with Indonesia’s brutal military occupation eclipse their admiration for Habibie’s leadership in breaking an impasse. There is broad respect for Habibie within Timor Leste and in 2018, a few months before his death, the country named a major bridge in the capital Dili after him to honor his role in the country’s establishment. This gesture of transcending grievance bodes well for a country which pragmatically recognizes the importance of good neighborly relations with Indonesia, which is now its largest trading partner.
Often states are not able to get over the legacy of historical injustices to heal the wounds of the past. Armenia continues to hold a century old grievance with Turkey on whether or not a brutal Anatolian conflict could be termed a genocide and has no diplomatic relations with its neighbor. Similarly, Bangladesh maintains frigid relations with Pakistan over a fifty-year old separatist war which led to its creation and for which at least one Pakistani leader has issued a tepid apology. Yet Timor Leste, which lost one-fifth of its population to Indonesian occupation has managed to grieve but move forward, drawing inspiration from countries like Vietnam which have mended fences with their erstwhile adversaries.
Despite its poverty and challenges with diversification of the economy beyond a waning oil industry, Timor Leste has been heralded as an example of financial transparency of its extractive revenues. The country joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2008 and its sovereign wealth fund’s expenditures are regularly reported. The country also has a Strategic Development Plan leading up to 2030 with a “Yellow Road” framework for sustainable income usage with an annual expenditure ceiling. However, the Asian Development Bank has noted in its assessment of the country’s expenditure plans that the ceiling has been exceeded in several years from 2010 onwards.
Infrastructure expenditure to provide electricity has been undertaken in expensive and polluting diesel power plants at Betano and Hera. Investment in irrigation rehabilitation at Bebui has also resulted in a negative rate of return. The South Coast’s Tasi Mane project has consumed over 14% of total capital spending between 2014 to 2019 and is almost entirely focused on logistics support for the petroleum industry, raising concerns about diversification.
Private sector investment overall across the country is likely to be hampered by ambiguities on land tenure systems. By one estimate conducted by USAID, 97% of the land is under customary land tenure systems. Developing tourism infrastructure and attracting investment from a range of hotel chains will require streamlining of property rights, leasing and acquisition arrangements. Within Dili there is some positive growth of investment for tourism with the expected opening of the Hilton Hotel later this year — the country’s first international business hotel chain.
Perhaps this nascent hotel property will escape the onslaught of the Corona virus pandemic, and use that distinction as a hallmark of a tourist campaign for the country? Part of the reason Timore Leste has dodged the virus is that there are so few international flights to the country and the border with Indonesia is highly localized in terms of traffic. Globalization and tourism are clearly mixed blessings. As the world seeks sanctuary from the trauma of the current pandemic, perhaps we can seek some inspiration from Timor Leste and its history of healing in body and spirit.
Saleem H. Ali is Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware