Mark Dodd, Dili – More than 4,000 exuberant East Timorese crammed around a small waterfront office in Dili yesterday, watching as the independence flag was raised for the first time in 23 years, marking the beginning of the Falintil party's referendum campaign.
"Now is the time for East Timorese to determine their own future," said the independence leader Xanana Gusmao in a pre-recorded speech. "For the past 23 years Falintil has been fighting, not people with different views but people with weapons – a fight against Kopassus [Indonesian special forces] and the generals."
Mr Gusmao, revered as a symbol of the territory's struggle for independence, is under house arrest in Jakarta following his release from jail earlier this year after being sentenced to 20 years for incitement.
A hush fell as the crowd listened to their leader appeal for peace and calm through the political campaign in the lead-up to the August 30 vote. Falintil youth especially needed to maintain discipline, he said.
The launch of the political campaign also coincided with the opening of a new office for the National Council for Timorese Resistance (CNRT), the political wing of the pro-independence faction.
By comparison, the CNRT's opening ceremony dwarfed the pro-autonomy rally which opened on Saturday on a dusty, wind-blown football oval, attracting a mostly rent-a-crowd of not more than 800 supporters. Many pro-autonomy "supporters" said that they had been ordered to attend the rally whether they wanted to or not.
Among the guests at the CNRT rally was the independence activist Mr Manuel Carrascalao, whose 18-year-old son, Manuelito, was murdered on April 17 by supporters of thepro-Indonesian Aitarak (Thorn) militia led by Eurico Guterres.
Looking haggard, Mr Carrascalao said he hoped to meet the deputy commander of Falintil (armed pro-independence wing) this week and expected to stay in Dili during the campaign.
"I'm happy to return although I still feel pain. I hear there is still terror and intimidation but these acts are only humiliating for Indonesia," he said.
Striking a conciliatory note on Saturday, a senior pro-autonomy official said there was agreement between the leaders of both sides on the need for a peaceful and strife-free political campaign.
"We feel at a leadership level with both sides we have no problems – the problems which have occurred are at a grass roots level," said Salvador Ximenes, of the United Front for East Timor Autonomy (BRTT).
The UN's senior electoral official in East Timor, Mr Geoff Fischer, wished the CNRT well and assured voters their ballot would be secure and secret.
Around the compound people craned for a view, climbing a huge old fig tree, perching on walls and car roofs. Two youths clung perilously to a steel electric power pole.
Despite the festival-like atmosphere, security was tight. A news agency interpreter was asked to leave after being identified as an Indonesian intelligence agent.
"We've seen the Indonesians try and crush the will of the people," said a man who identified himself as Chris, a 30-year-old contractor from Dili. "I've come here on my own free will. I am confident we will win.