Jon Land – As East Timor's Constituent Assembly draws closer to finalising the nation's constitution there is increasing debate over whether fresh elections should be held for the proposed Legislative Assembly. Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri is adamantly opposed to such a move, stating that "opting for new elections is openly to want to provoke crises".
On January 17, United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor chief administrator Sergio de Mello announced that presidential elections would take place on April 14. When questioned on the issue of elections for the legislature, he stated that this was a decision solely for the Constituent Assembly.
Under regulations adopted by UNTAET in March 2001 for the August 30 Constituent Assembly elections, the assembly has the option, in the process of drafting the constitution, to transform itself into the Legislative Assembly.
A universal complaint from election monitors, East Timorese NGO's and from many of the country's political parties was that many voters did not fully understand the implications of the ambiguous electoral regulation permitting the Constituent Assembly to convert itself into a permanent legislature.
The call for fresh elections to the legislature has come from both radical and conservative sides of East Timorese politics. Popular leader and president-to-be, Xanana Gusmao, has publicly stated his support for legislative elections, as has religious leader Bishop Carlos Belo. Avelino da Silva, secretary general of the Socialist Party of Timor (PST), told Green Left Weekly that "new elections would serve to strengthen democracy and accountability".
An alliance called the Group for the Defence of Democracy, Peace and Stability in East Timor (GDDPE) issued a public statement and petition on January 3, calling for the "simultaneous holding of presidential and legislative elections" by May 20 (the date set for the formal transfer of power from UNTAET) or "legislative elections soon after independence, preferably on August 30".
The GDDPE is headed by Manuel Carrascalao, former head of the National Council, and includes representatives from the PST, the Democratic Party (PD), the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) plus a number of independents. The PD and PSD form the largest bloc in the Constituent Assembly after Fretilin. In response to the formation of the GDDPE, Alkatiri claimed the group was merely "dreaming of better results than at the last elections".
Da Silva told Green Left Weekly that the GDDPE plans to continue to lobby members of the Constituent Assembly and organise public meetings and rallies in support of legislative elections.
International labour body raps Indonesian bosses for rejecting minimum wage Agence France Presse - January 25, 2002
Jakarta – An international labour body has strongly criticised Indonesian manufacturers for refusing to pay the new minimum wage, saying world retailers were unwilling to buy from "dirty sources."
The Brussels-based International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation, in a statement received Friday, attacked the "heavy-handed approach" of employers who are taking local authorities in Jakarta to court to try to block a rise in the wage.
The increase amounts to 38 percent in Jakarta, bringing the monthly minimum to the equivalent of 60 dollars, but bosses say the rise will drive them into bankruptcy.
Federation general secretary Neil Kearney, in a letter to the Indonesian Employers' Association, criticised what he called "poverty wages and appalling working conditions" in Indonesian manufacturing.
"Even before the new increase, many companies are already paying below the minimum wage, further damaging the reputation of Indonesian manufacturers," Kearney said in his letter. "International consumers no longer want to buy products produced by exploited labour. So if you succeed at keeping wages at poverty levels, you risk losing your best markets in US and Europe because industrialised world retailers can no longer be seen to be sourcing from dirty sources."
The rise in the minimum wage, which also applies elsewhere in the country but at different levels, took effect January 1. A court temporarily delayed its implementation in Jakarta after the bosses' association filed an objections.
The court later lifted its injunction and ordered employers to pay the increase pending a final judicial decision. Employers say they are already suffering from the global economic downturn along with rises in fuel prices and planned increases for electricity and phone calls.