Karen Michelmore, Jakarta – The world had been too optimistic about the early achievement of East Timor, the new boss of the United Nations mission in the tiny nation says.
Veteran Indian diplomat Dr Atul Khare begins his new job in Dili today as the head of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (East Timor). He has no illusions about the tough job he faces, with the world's newest nation beset by continuing sporadic violence, 25,000 of its citizens still in refugee camps as the wet season begins and major democratic elections just a few months away.
"It's quite a challenge because I think the people and the country have gone through a difficult period... in the last few months," he said in a telephone interview. "We have the forthcoming elections, which I hope will prove to be a step in the process of political dialogue and reconciliation.
"I trust, with the assistance of international partners,... that the Timorese people will rise up to the challenge to ensure that the elections which are held are independent, free and fair, and an expression of the democratic will of the people."
Khare, who worked in East Timor for three years until 2005, most recently as deputy special representative of the secretary general to the previous UN peacekeeping mission, says he feels saddened by the recent violence, which has killed dozens of people since April.
"When UNMISET (the previous UN mission) concluded its operations in May 2005, at that point in time I and several others were convinced that the country had been reasonably securely anchored on the path towards sustainable development as a peaceful democratic state," he said. "But that belief has been shaken by the events of the last few months.
"I have a previous association with the people of Timor Leste... whom I regard very highly... and in some ways I feel very pleased that I'm going back there, I'm very grateful... for the confidence they (hold) in me.
"But at the same point in time I must also say that... this happiness has been tinged with a bit of sadness on account of the reason which has prompted my return.
"I would have been far happier if I had returned there a few years down the line as a pure tourist to a peaceful democratic country to enjoy the beaches."
One of Khare's first meetings in Dili will be with Australia's Justice Minister Chris Ellison and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty tomorrow.
The UN shepherded East Timor to independence in 2002, through a violent period after its citizens overwhelmingly voted in 1999 for independence from Indonesia. However, fresh violence erupted in April this year after a third of the army was sacked.
Dozens of people were killed and more than 150,000 were driven from their homes. Khare believed one of the lessons from the violence was that the international community, the UN and himself personally were "too optimistic about the level of systems building and institution building and the development of competencies of individual officers of the... Timorese police that had taken place".
The UN's peacekeeping mission UNMISET withdrew in May 2005 and was replaced by a smaller political mission, the United Nations Office in Timor Leste (UNOTIL).
"Obviously, the events have clearly demonstrated that our optimism was somewhat misplaced," he said. "The long-term challenge to build the PNTL (Timorese police) into a strong police force that works to international standards is the immediate lesson to be drawn from those events."
The new UN mission has been without a head since September, after former Cape Verde president Antonio Macarenhas Monteiro was briefly appointed to the job, but apparently changed his mind.