Jon Lamb – Heightened tensions within East Timor and rumours of further violent clashes have subsided with the passing of the Fretilin congress, held in Dili on May 17-19. The congress was a test of support for Fretilin leader and East Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

On the eve of the congress, prominent Fretilin leaders Jose Luis Guterres, Abel Ximenes, Jorge Teme and others expressed public concern over Alkatiri's leadership and his handling of political affairs. Guterres is East Timor's ambassador to the United Nations (and formerly head of the Fretilin External Delegation during the Indonesian occupation). Teme was formerly East Timor's ambassador to Australia. Ximenes has recently resigned from his cabinet post as development minister.

Guterres announced just prior to the congress that he would stand against Alkatiri and contest the position of secretary general of the party. Teme told ABC Radio on May 16 that Alkatiri's presidency is "totally unorganised, [with] no consultation" and that "There is a one-man show, the prime minister is the one [who] determines everything and we don't want this".

One congress observer told Green Left Weekly that Alkatiri received strong applause and cheers from delegates each time he intervened in the discussion. There was also significant support expressed for Fretilin president and parliamentary speaker Francisco Guterres (also popularly known as Lu-Olo), a former resistance fighter against the Indonesian occupation.

In spite of this support from a majority of the more than 500 delegates at the congress, late on the second day of the congress Alkatiri chose to push through a change of procedure for elections from a secret ballot to a show of hands. As many of the delegates to the congress were public servants, such a vote would have been a further test of their support for the policies of the Fretilin government, as well as Alkatiri's position as secretary general.

Jose Luis Guterres withdrew his candidature for secretary general in protest, stating that the change undermined the democratic process and that: "The basis for elections has to be like any other democratic party in the world – that is, secret ballot."

Expectations of escalating violence in East Timor following the April 28 police shootings of rowdy protesters in Dili have shown to be unfounded. According to Tomas Freitas, a member of the activist group Aluta Hamutuk, who attended the Fretilin congress as an observer, there was a strong sentiment among delegates to address the problems and issues associated with the April 28 and earlier protests by former Falintil guerrilla fighters and unemployed youth.

Freitas said that the delegates made it very clear that "the Fretilin central committee must meet and discuss after the congress how to resolve the concerns of the former Falintil fighters". He also noted the low profile at the congress of Rogerio Lobato, the interior minister, who has come under criticism over the excess of force used to control the April 28 protest.

After April 28, "Rumours and confusion scared many people", Avelino da Silva, secretary general of the Socialist Party of Timor told GLW. Da Silva also noted that the Fretilin congress will mark "the start of the election campaign for 2007". He said that in the lead-up to the elections there will be more protest actions and mobilisations and that this will be a test of how democratic the Fretilin-led government is.

Hyped-up concerns over stability in East Timor was the excuse given by the Australian government to mobilise five naval vessels in the Timor and Arafura Seas in the week prior to the Fretilin congress. Even East Timor's foreign minister, Jose Ramos Horta, who has a close working relationship with Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, expressed surprise over the extent of the Australian military presence.

When questioned on ABC Radio on May 12 about whether East Timor could descend into violence at the time of the Fretilin congress, Horta responded that: "There is no such chance. I've been in touch with everybody concerned. We are all cooperating to ensure peace in this country."

The flexing of Australia's military muscle in the waters near East Timor has more to do with shoring-up and safeguarding Australian economic interests than concern for the safety and well-being of the East Timorese people. The ongoing theft of East Timor's oil and gas in the Timor Sea by the Australian government exposes this myth.

As with the Australian-led intervention into the Solomon Islands, a military intervention into East Timor by Australia would centre on fostering and strengthening corrupt and undemocratic rule by a political elite compliant with the interests of Australian government and business.