Alkatiri makes it to the top<\/p>\n
Pandaya, The Jakarta Post, Dili<\/p>\n
After taking oath on May 20, East Timor Prime Minister Mari
\nAlkatiri warned that his government would have to "often take
\nunpopular measures" to keep it going.<\/p>\n
He did specify what he meant by "unpopular measures" but he
\ninsisted that the action would be necessary to create a solid
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Alkatiri, who is widely respected for his diplomatic prowess,
\nwas showing his determination to establish a strong government
\nthat he believed was necessary to lead the world's newest nation
\nto prosperity.<\/p>\n
Alkatiri is a leading figure in the "Mozambique connection" in
\nthe 24-strong cabinet which is dominated by politicians from his
\nFretilin Party. In last August's elections, Fretilin won 55 of
\nthe 88 seats in the Constituent Assembly that became a full-
\nfledged Parliament on May 20.<\/p>\n
Advocates portray him as a brilliant politician and diplomat
\nwho tirelessly fought for independence on the diplomatic front.
\nHe was among the first of three East Timorese heroes who were
\nassigned to avert Indonesia's impending invasion in 1975.<\/p>\n
He has been criticized for going his own way in forming his
\ncabinet dominated by Fretilin politicians. Not only that, his
\npolitical foes charge that he has formed a Mozambique clique.<\/p>\n
Mozambique is a former Portuguese colony in Africa where
\nAlkatiri and many other politicians now holding key positions,
\nsuch as Jose Ramos Horta and Justice Minister Ana Pessoa, were
\nself-exiled, educated or grew up.<\/p>\n
"Mari Alkatiri is clever and he should be given the chance to
\nprove that he is a good prime minister," said Jacob Xavier, a
\nPortuguese educated jurist, theologian and politician.<\/p>\n
But his critics are seeing signs of authoritarianism in the
\nway he runs the government.<\/p>\n
Mario Viegas Carrascalao, chief of the Socialist Democratic
\nParty, said that Alkatiri was building a dominant one-party
\nsystem comparable to that of Indonesia's political structure in
\nthe Soeharto era by placing his people in key positions in all
\nlevels of the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
"I'm afraid he is doing it now," Carrascalao told The Jakarta
\nPost. Carrascalao was a former East Timor governor during the
\nSoeharto regime and like any other bureaucrat, he had to align
\nwith Soeharto's Golkar party.<\/p>\n
Born on Nov. 26, 1949 in Dili, Alkatiri was raised there with
\n10 brothers and sisters by his family, the descendants of
\nmigrants from Yemen in the 19th century.<\/p>\n
He pursued further studies in Angola after he finished his
\nsecondary education in Dili and graduated as a surveyor from the
\nAngolan School of Geography. Upon returning to East Timor,
\nAlkatiri started work at the Public Works Department as a
\nchartered surveyor.<\/p>\n
In fact his political activism began even before he left for
\nAngola when, together with East Timor citizens, he established
\nthe clandestine Movement for Liberation of East Timor on Jan 8,
\n1970.<\/p>\n
The winds of change in Portugal brought him a windfall. After
\nthe 1974 revolution in Portugal, the then colonial administrator
\nof East Timor allowed the establishment of political
\norganizations in East Timor. He co-founded ASDT - Associagco
\nSocial Democrata Timorense' (Timorese Social Democratic
\nAssociation) and was appointed deputy secretary-general.<\/p>\n
When an even freer political climate developed, ASDT
\ntransformed into Fretilin (a political front), on Sept. 11, 1974.
\nThe West and Indonesia saw Fretilin as dangerous because of its
\ncommunist orientation and Russian connections. Only a year later,
\nAlkatiri was elected National Political Commissioner by the
\nCentral Committee of Fretilin.<\/p>\n
He began to make a name for himself in the international
\nforums when Fretilin sent him and independence activists Ramos
\nHorta and Rogerio Lobato to the diplomatic front to mobilize
\ninternational support to stop the Indonesian troops' impending
\ninvasion of East Timor.<\/p>\n
He courted African countries for support. And after Fretilin
\nunilaterally declared independence on Nov. 28, 1975, proclaiming
\nit the Democratic Republic of East Timor, Alkatiri was appointed
\nState and Plenipotentiary Minister for Political Affairs.<\/p>\n
As chief of the Fretilin External Department, Mari Alkatiri
\nmoved his base to Mozambique where he remained until 1999. His
\nmost remembered achievement in the diplomatic front was perhaps
\nwhen the UN Security Council adopted a resolution condemning the
\ninvasion of East Timor.<\/p>\n
In recognition of the achievement, Alkatiri was named minister
\nfor external relations replacing Horta who was named East Timor's
\nrepresentative to the UN.<\/p>\n
Alkatiri, who has pledged to pay special attention to
\neducation and health, has repeatedly underlined the need for good
\nrelations with its closest neighbor, Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, he said, is not only vital for economic development
\nbut also for the reconciliation efforts between the various
\nfactions in East Timor.<\/p>\n
"The success of reconciliation is connected to rebuilding
\nrelations between Timor and Indonesia. Therefore we will make all
\nefforts to resolve existing problems and we can go forward
\ntogether with development of the two countries and the region,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
On the diplomatic front, Alkatiri pledged that his government
\nwould strive to "increase the number of friends" and to have no
\nenemies.<\/p>\n
Also high on his agenda was consolidation of maritime borders
\nwith Indonesia and Australia because the issue was meaningful for
\nsecurity and sovereignty as well as economic resources.<\/p>\n
The first advise came from East Timor President Xanana Gusmao,
\n"The people expect the best."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alkatiri-makes-it-to-the-top-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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