Former UN envoy looks back at East Timor vote
Updated
East Timor's referendum in 1999 was conducted by the United Nations and at the time, Ian Martin was the UN Special Representative.
Mr Martin is back in Dili to celebrate the anniversary and he spoke to Connect Asia about the progress of East Timor and ongoing UN assistance.
Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Speakers: Ian Martin, UN Special Representative to East Timor in 1999
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MARTIN: Well, there are obviously tremendous emotions associated with 1999 and despite the terrible violence that followed, indeed a predominant celebration is of the Timorese now running their own country.
For me, it is also an occasion to return after having been the special envoy of the Secretary General during the crisis of 2006, so to come back to Dili and not see as I saw last time people displaced and homes burning in Dili, but a city that is extremely peaceful and secure and celebrating is a great thing.
COCHRANE: Ian Martin, you mentioned the unrest of 2006, where army infighting spread to the streets. Some of those tensions at least lie still beneath the surface. Do you think there has been enough done by the United Nations to create institutions and I am talking about the police, the army, the parliament, institutions that can serve as a foundation for lasting stability?
MARTIN: Well, that is not going to be done just by the UN. Of course there has been an enormous efforts by the UN and by the international community as a whole. I must say my reflection at the moment is extraordinary how far Timor Leste has come in 10 years, because ones expectations as to what is involved in building a state out of a territory which has been left with almost nothing after centuries of colonialism and then decades of occupation, one's expectations cannot be too high. But I think the question as to whether the underlying causes of the implosion in the security sector and indeed in the state in 2006 is a very important one and I am certainly not in a position to assess it on the basis of having been here for a couple of days, but it's an important question for the Timorese leadership to continue to ask themselves and for the international community assisting them to ask themselves.
COCHRANE: The United Nations is preparing to withdraw from East Timor. Do you think the country is ready to go it alone?
MARTIN: Well, first I am not sure if it's true (that) the United Nations at this stage is preparing to withdraw from East Timor, of course that is a matter for the Security Council will be discussed in the coming months. And I don't think it's a question either of Timor Leste going it completely alone. There will continue to be a great deal of international support, but this is already a country that is in most important respects running itself, and I think the international community of course must stay engaged in ways that the Timorese political leadership wants, but I don't think that an enormous United Nations presence is something that should continue indefinitely.
COCHRANE: Ian Martin, I know you are just about to step into a meeting with President Jose Ramos Horta, but just finally, can I ask you what was the key lesson that you learnt and you think the UN learnt from the experience of East Timor's referendum and of its violent aftermath?
MARTIN: I think it's important that the United Nations always plans for the worst case scenario, at the same time as it hopes for the best case scenario. I am afraid the commitments of the Indonesia made in 1999 that they would maintain security during the ballot and afterwards where in retrospect never likely to be fulfilled. I am afraid there was not another option in 1999, because there is no way that the Indonesian Government, then President Habibie, could agree to international security presence which ideally is what should have been there during the popular consultation. But I must say I don't find any Timorese regretting now that the window of opportunity that existed in '99 was taken by the United Nations in full agreement with the Timorese leadership.
