Timorese mixed on country's future

Timorese mixed on country's future

Associated Press, Jakarta

Post-independence confidence in East Timor has declined, with
nearly 40 percent of East Timorese saying they feel worse off now
than under Indonesian rule and less than half optimistic about
the future, according to a survey.

However, most of the 1,561 surveyed by the nonpartisan
International Republican Institute voiced confidence in their
government, with 90 percent describing the presidency as good or
excellent, and positive appraisals of 75 percent for the courts,
67 percent for Parliament and 53 percent for the prime minister's
office.

The poll comes as East Timor is wrestling with a stagnant
economy and doubts over the government's ability to run the
country after the United Nations departs next year. The survey is
based on a representative national sample with an error margin of
2.6 percent.

"Things aren't perfect here," Deborah White, the institute's
country director, told The Associated Press on Friday.

"People have said there are problems with this and that," she
said. "But when they rated institutions, people overwhelming
rated them good or excellent. It says to me that there is still
confidence in these institutions. People are willing to give the
government a chance to solve these problems."

According to the U.S.-funded annual survey, 42 percent of
respondents felt East Timor was better off since the country
became independent in 2001, while 38.9 percent felt it was worse
off. Another 17.2 percent felt the country had not changed.

More significantly, the percentage of Timorese who voiced
optimism about the country's future dropped from 75 percent last
year to 48 percent this year. However, only 30 percent felt the
country was headed in the wrong direction.

Respondents said their concerns about the future were fueled
by unresolved problems, with 65 percent saying corruption had
worsened since independence and 43 percent saying the economy had
deteriorated.

However, Timorese said that freedom, security and the
educational system had improved since independence.

Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation ended in 1999.