East Timor Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Timor’s Oil: Blessing or Curse?

by Guteriano Neves | Aug 26, 2011

Oil has different meanings for different societies. For developed societies like the United States, Japan, and Western Europe, oil is like an addictive drug that people only want more and more of. It enables them to go everywhere. It helps them cook and regulate the temperature of their dwellings. Without oil, people in these societies couldn’t sustain their way of life. For these reasons, many countries go to war for the sake of securing access to oil.

However, oil has different significance for developing countries whose economies heavily depend on exporting oil and gas.

Timor: Where Has All the Aid Gone?

by Guteriano Neves | Jun 20, 2011

When Indonesia withdrew from Timor-Leste (TL) in 1999, governments all over the world expressed their sympathy for the Timorese. Donor governments promised to assist TL to build a viable state, with lasting peace and stability. Early on, the United States also committed to help TL move toward a democratic society. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently reiterated this commitment in her meeting with TL’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

After 11 years, the rhetoric is still the same. But the reality on the ground has not changed much.

Response to Williams

by Noam Chomsky, John Feffer | Sep 1, 2009

Ian Williams angrily denied that "NATO air raids on Serbia [beginning March 24 1999] actually precipitated the worst atrocities in Kosovo" and charged that it is deeply immoral for me to say so, "like claiming that the British air raids on Germany precipitated the Nazi gas chambers."

Response to Chomsky

by John Feffer, Ian Williams | Aug 21, 2009

I am afraid that simply because Noam Chomsky makes an ex cathedra observation does not make it "uncontroversial" — not even when he hyperbolically accuses me of having "blood on my hands." He still defends his statement that "NATO air raids on Serbia [beginning March 24, 1999] actually precipitated the worst atrocities in Kosovo," and is surprised that I find this untrue — let alone morally unpalatable.

Indonesia’s Arms Appetite

by Frida Berrigan, John Feffer | Feb 26, 2008

Jakarta wants weapons. Lots of them.

Enabling the Indonesian Military

by John Feffer, Conn Hallinan | Jul 18, 2007

This is a tale about politics, influence, money and murder. It began more than 40 years ago with a bloodletting so massive that no one quite knows how many people died. Half a million? A million? Through four decades, the story of the relationship between the United States and the Indonesian military has left a trail of misery and terror. Last month it claimed four peasants, one of them a 27-year-old mother. Unless Congress puts the brakes on the Bush administration’s plans to increase aid and training for the Indonesian army, there will be innumerable victims in the future as well.

A Second Rebirth for East Timor?

by John Feffer, Arnold Kohen | Aug 15, 2006

In recent months, East Timor has witnessed a tragic renewal of violence. In May, after the government dismissed about one-third of the country’s soldiers, fighting broke out among the security forces. Gangs of unemployed youth, possibly manipulated by some political leaders, set much of East Timor’s capital of Dili ablaze. Amid warnings of a full-scale conflagration, a temporary Australian-led international peacekeeping force entered the territory to quell the violence. At least 37 people have died since conflict reignited. About 150,000 displaced persons are taking refuge in camps for fear of fresh fighting.