 build self-reliance. Subsidies for the elderly, the handicapped and veterans, orphans and widows of the struggle for national liberation are sensible policies which were part of the official policy approved in the first congress of CNRT and have been implemented with strong national consensus. And dependency mentality mode is certainly not at all pervasive. However, the inherent dependency expectations that have resulted from poverty and lack of jobs require strategic policies aiming at responding and minimising the consequences of dependency mentality. Secondly, changing mentality also involved erasing the then prevailing culture of politicising the public service, public media, private sector, the military and the police. It was based on these premises that Xanana Gusmão exerted within his party, CNRT, the motto that ‘we are struggling to take over government, not for the sake of controlling the Government, but to make governance of our country viable’. This motto instigates a mentality of focusing on results, not on occupying positions for the position’s sake.
The principles of changing mentality and making our government viable are central to Statebuilding. First, because there is the need to shift the mindset of freedom fighters from one with characteristics which are very important for the Struggle for National Liberation to one focus on citizenship of the state, as warranted by the Constitution. As often reminded by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, since 20 May 2002, all the Timorese have the same constitutional rights and duties, as citizens. The citizenship provides for the spirit of building together the institutions of the State without which the State cannot carry on its function with the expected normality. Second, shifting mentality means political parties must nurture the spirit of independence to help the young State to grow. Third, having a mentality which praises independence of the citizen means the State can provide for the necessary conditions for the people to enjoy freedom and to participate, in responsible and effective ways, in the process of national independence.
What is it that makes governance viable? The fundamental condition for governance to be viable is national stability; and this requires that all institutions of the State are also stable and steadily evolving. Such institutions include the defence force, the police, the pillars of sovereignty, not least the courts. Governance is about the process of implementing the state budget according to the approved framework, but above all is about participation of all citizens in different levels of administration and other activities pertaining to the enhancement of the well-being of the citizens and the State. The Government, being the executive-arm, is charged with the responsibility to prepare the State Budget and to submit it to the Parliament for debate and subsequent approval. The budget process itself requires a proper reflection about the real needs of the country. Limited financial resources to answer to all the real needs impose upon the Government and Parliament the necessity to select priorities which first and foremost must be addressed to maintain national stability. Electricity for the nation and major infrastructure which impact on every key sector such as roads and water, including major irrigation systems, become determining factors. Combined with human needs, such as the elderly and veterans of war, the IV Constitutional Government and the Parliament have reached a compromise that ensures a positive impact on national security and stability. Compromise between long-term and short-term needs and priorities becomes the art of devising the State Budget.
Governance also entails the development of civil society and the people in general. Development has different meanings in different phases of statehood. At this stage, Timor-Leste needs jobs for the youth. A healthy democracy requires active participation of civil society in the debates on the best ways to move the country forward, which complements the debates taking place within and between the political parties and in the Parliament. There is also the crucial factor of media development. This particular sector, for the first time this year, due to the work of the Government and the support from Parliament, succeeded in obtaining one million dollars to further its development. Issues such as professionalism and capacity of the newspapers to generate employment, media websites, structuring processes which include media law and capacity building, are some of the key factors to be considered. The equally important community radio system of the country figures as a major focus for this approved budget to be implemented in 2012. The general election will be held on June 29, 2012. It is expected that by July there will be a new government, the Fifth Constitutional Government[3] with its own program but will also implement the programs already approved by the Parliament for 2012.
Following the election, one major focus will be the phasing out of UNMIT, the United Nations Mission for Timor-Leste. UNMIT was established within a context and with a scope most appropriate to respond to the crisis sparked in 2006. Institutional capacity building for the national police, the PNTL, featured amongst the most important task. Until March this year, this mission can be said to have been accomplished because UNMIT has now handed over total command responsibilities to the Timorese PNTL. A similar handover ceremony was held in 2004 by the then UNMISET, which included handing over the defense sector. Within only two years, however, the crisis took place involving the PNTL and the defence force, the Falintil-FDTL. The question as to whether the United Nations has fulfilled all the prerequisites for a mission accomplished, or whether the handover of total command responsibility is premature, may still be lurking in the air. Time can give the best answer. There are reasons to be confident. One of these is the success of joint operations between these two institutions. Another is the stable process of police screening and promotions. A third is the successful recruitment and capacity building F-FDTL has undertaken so far, with promising results in terms of future senior military cadres drawn from younger generation with an in-depth sense of national responsibility.
Bearing in mind the above, an update on Timor-Leste has to involve taking into account major developments which will enable the country to move forward. It goes without saying, however, that this brief update cannot and it is not indented to cover every major aspect of the complex process of consolidating nationbuilding and statebuilding that Timor-Leste inevitably must pursue. The forthcoming 2012 general election will mark a turning point, one which reaffirms the resilience of the Timorese to succeed in this era of post-conflict and globalisation. As mentioned before, it is difficult to predict the outcome of the next legislative election. What is certain is that whichever political force wins the election will carry on the huge burden of moving the country beyond conflict to enter the much-needed era of infrastructure development, enhancing the capacity of private sector and foreign investment. National stability has been restored and mentality changes have occur, but these need to be understood as a process requiring building on what has been achieved to multiply positive effects; and in doing so, avoiding dangerous situations which could return the country to an environment of insecurity. Therefore, leaders must be realistic in their politics and avoid excessive idealism in their analysis of causes and effects.
What about this last debate on 2012 State Budget just ended on November 25? This is the eighth budget the Fourth Constitutional Government has submitted to the Parliament for approval.[4] All eight budgets were subjected to a process of in-depth analyses by relevant Standing Committees of the National Parliament. Government members answering questions by Standing Committee Members about the reasons and logic of the proposed budget, level of execution of the current budget and respective results. The analyses include almost item by item breakdown to highlight weaknesses and challenge the government to explain. This process helped to enrich the understanding of the philosophy of the budget, including budget dynamics imposed by national priorities as identified by the Government. In the first three years of the mandate (August 2007 – August 2010), as reflected in the first three budgets (see footnote), the major concerns of the Government were initiatives which help respond to national security needs. These included solving the problem of the so-called peticionários (petitioners), made up of former F-FDTL members dissatisfied with their Force Commanders and abandoned their barracks to protest publicly against what they perceived as discrimination in regard to opportunities for promotion and other matters. The Constitution of Timor-Leste allows citizens to present Petitions to the pillars of sovereignty. Officially, on March 1, 2006, all 591 military personnel associated with the group peticionários were effectively dismissed by the Command of F-FDTL.[5]
Another equally potentially destabilising factor was the group of former Major Alfredo Reinado. On March 4 2005, after suffering an armed assault by the ISF in Same-Manufahi district,[6] from which four of his men were killed but he escaped, Alfredo Reinado confiscated automatic weapons from the Border Police Unit and engaged in on-and-off dialogue with national authorities. In the early morning of February 8, 2008, Reinado decided to enter the residence of the President of the Republic, with unclear intention. As a consequence, he himself was killed by the guards, his former comrades of F-FDTL. His other subgroup led by former Lt. Ten. Salsinha, also shot at the Prime Minister, on the same day, on the road near Prime-Minister’s private residence at Balíbar, Díli. Prime-Minister Xanana Gusmão escaped without injury. Salsinha and his group also escaped the authorities, but after a Joint F-FDTL – PNTL operation to capture the group, Salsinha and his men finally decided to surrender and agreed to be driven to the Government House[7] in Díli, to handover their guns to the Prime-Minister whom they still considered their historic resistance leader. Following this final act, a major potential risk for destabilisation from para-military groups finally was put to rest.
To understand better the focus on national security and stability, one needs to go back some years, to reflect on the violence experienced by the