Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

The Pawn of Timor-Leste

dingo | 01.03.2007 12:09 | Analysis | Globalisation | Social Struggles | World

Australian Special Forces have today surrounded the 'rebel’ Major Alfredo Reinado in occupied Timor-Leste; it seems Reinado has passed his use-by-date; a tense stand-off presently exists with Reinado threatening to shoot any Australian soldier who ventures too near.

The rabidly ‘anti-communist’ Major Reinado was duped by Australia into inciting rebellion against the democratically elected but uncooperative Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. The now ousted Alkatiri refused the crippling debt slavery deal offered by Paul Wolfowitz of the World Bank for 'development' (exploitation) of Timor-Leste’s precious off-shore oil resource. Time for plan “B”; enter Australia’s John Howard.

Australia has recently signed a 50/50-development deal with Jose Ramos Horta the interim Prime Minister. The previous 90/10 deal, the Lion’s share to Australia, was strenuously and vocally refused by Alkatiri who rightly and passionately defended his tiny, impoverished, nation’s rights – Alkatiri had to go!

Enter, Major Alfredo Reinado, who had been trained in Australia by Special Forces for precisely such and event – how convenient! After Alkatiri had been removed from office it seems the popular but volatile Reinado had become a liability. Leopards and Australians do not change their spots, similar charges of illegal weapons appropriation (levelled at Alkatiri) were also levelled at Reinado who became a ‘fugitive outlaw’ after leisurely escaping confinement for a number of other charges to which murder has now been added – time’s up for Alfredo! A job well done but in the sordid world of duplicitous oil politics the Major is wondering why the dagger in his back carries the “made in Australia” marking on its blade – should have known, but it's too late now.

Reinado now realises he has been used as a means to an end and very little hope remains. Little chance of repelling the occupiers exists as Reinado has been psychologically divided from his countrymen by the ‘communist spectre’ label attributed to other powerful factions on the island. But it was all part of the plan – a perfect African scenario, a gambit familiar to Alkatiri.

A highly unlikely scenario:

It is well known that China desires more influence in the region. China threatened to directly intervene in the region if Indonesia persisted in its seasonal killings of ethnic Chinese. This threat resulted in the cessation of hostilities against the ethnic Chinese – the criminal groups responsible were fronts for Indonesian military and police extortion rackets. The targets are now westerners and the petro-dollar rich Islamic extremists now fund these criminal groups, which have been labelled ‘terrorist’ by western powers, they have been in existence for decades but that’s another story.

The unlikely but feasible scenario is requesting assistance from China to balance the threat from American Oil Companies working through their proxy the Australian government. This may not occur in the present situation but no one knows what the future may bring. Alkatiri is no fool and remains a popular Fretilin leader with strong ties to socialist democracies.

See also:
 http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=230075

Related:
 http://cleaves.zapto.org/clv/newswire.php?story_id=224

dingo
- Homepage: http://cleaves.zapto.org/clv/newswire.php?story_id=423

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech