Update: Wikipedia is following the East Timor crisis.

The situation in Dili has deteriorated into what seems to be full chaos. I am no longer worried for my friends’ well-being. I am scared. Dili was in the main Finnish news today for the first time since the independence four years ago. It was ugly.

Since my last post about the situation in Timor, troops from Australia have arrived in Dili and troops from New Zealand and Portugal are expected. The difference between this peacekeeping force and the previous one is that the previous was a UN mission and this is not. The similarity is that this time too, the peacekeeping force has real problems making peace happen. I really wonder what’s going on, and why the UN isn’t in charge.
So what did happen? 591 soldiers, a third of Timor-Leste’s armed forces, from the west of Timor-Leste were sacked because they were protesting. They left their barracks to voice their opinion that they are treated unfairly compared to their brothers in arms from the east of the country. See, the fighting (1975-1999) happened mainly in the east of Timor-Leste, or so is the story. Of course, most of Timor-Leste was pretty much a mess.

Anyway, the 591 angry soldiers got a bunch of supporters, demanding that the 591 would be reinstated. The government mainly dismissed the whole thing and thought they could wait it out, but the Petitioners were both dedicated and pissed off and said that they would die for their case if so needed. In short, they would go to guerilla war against their state. Civil war.

Now, this would sound like rather unreasonable reasoning — take us back into the army or we will wage a guerilla war against you — if you don’t know some history of Timor-Leste. During the Indonesian invasion, it was “the organised army” (TNI) against “the guerilla”. That’s how things worked for 24 ugly years and few remember or can even think of another way of action.

Then about three weeks ago, things turned bad. Some troublemakers decided to take advantage of the volatile situation (at least, this is the official truth — the Petitioners did not start it) and started a riot. Cars were burned (right outside my old job at the Palácio do Governo), shops were looted, people were beaten and five were killed. According to official truth. The petitioners claim the correct number of dead is 76.

Calm came after the storm. For a while, things looked like they would turn normal again. But it was a volatile peace, now gone. Local “martial arts groups” and hoodlums are raising hell. UN is moving out their international staff to Darwin, Australia, tomorrow morning. I am worried about the local staff. Especially, my thoughts are with Guida who’s just become a mother. I can’t help but think that UN is betraying the local staff.

Please people, take care. Stay alive.