Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Let me first say how pleased I am to be able to speak in this chamber about the commitment of Australian troops again to East Timor. Whilst I welcome the commitment by the government—and it is widely supported within the community—I do want to express my concerns about how it might, in the longer term, stretch the capacity of the Army to do its work.

I was fortunate to be in Timor-Leste in October-November 1999, just after the Australian troops began their task in that first fateful period after the independence vote when, as a United Nations sanctioned force, they were leading a multinational force of troops which was more than ably led by General Cosgrove. I had the fortune of meeting General Cosgrove and some of his commanders whilst I was there, very early on in their task, and the commitment of those senior soldiers, the officers and General Cosgrove, was then a great tribute to all of us, as I am sure it is now with the current group of senior officers—the commanding officer and his officers—and the soldiers who are present in East Timor.

I want to make the observation that, some while ago, I was fortunate enough to visit Australian troops in Iraq at Al Muthanna. We hear now that it is proposed that the Iraqi forces will take over the security task which was then being undertaken by the Australian Army, and I commend the Iraqi armed forces for doing that. Whilst the Australian government has said that it is proposing to maintain the deployment of the current set of troops or those who would be in the next rotation of the same size as the group at Al Muthanna to do other functions, I would like to know what those functions are and just would proffer the question as to whether or not we will be able to maintain that task group when, at the same time, we have committed ourselves—certainly in the short term, and I suspect in the medium to longer term—to a new force in East Timor.

I also want to make the observation that it is a grave disappointment that we have been required to go back in force to Timor-Leste. It is a grave disappointment to those of us who were involved prior to supporting the resistance forces in the years after 1975 and subsequently to be in a position where Australian troops are now being recommitted there. I want to express my disappointment at the inability of the Timorese armed forces and the Timorese government to maintain its own security, but I do not put the blame upon them. I suspect it is a lot more appropriate for us to contemplate the position and the decisions taken by the United Nations when it decided to withdraw the United Nations forces, including the Australian forces, previously.

Whilst I know there was great debate about whether or not the East Timorese should have a standing army, I do make the observation that I was in New York at the time that representations were being made to the United Nations by the Timorese diplomats and by the Timorese foreign minister, Jose Ramos Horta, about prolonging the stay of the United Nations, and there was much debate about how long that stay should be, what sort of force structure it should entail and whether or not we should have armed forces of the type that were there previously continuing on. I know that the Australian government took the position that it was no longer an appropriate thing for us to be doing, that it was their view and the view of the United Nations generally, the Security Council, that it was time to scale down the United Nations occupation.

I have to say that I think in hindsight that has proven to be a very poor decision. I would say to the government that they should err on the side of caution when discussing these issues now and in the future in the United Nations and just perhaps reflect that the East Timorese are in a very good position to judge what is in their own interests. If the East Timorese ask for more, I would rather give them more than less, whether that be Australian troops or other foreign troops, or Australian police or other foreign police.

As we lead up to the next election in Timor-Leste some time early next year, it is very important that there is a sense of peace and harmony in the community, that we do not have thugs wandering around the streets disturbing the peace or, more importantly, putting lives at risk and killing people. We need to have an election in a peaceful environment. Whilst making that observation, I would also say there has been much comment over the last month or so about Prime Minister Alkatiri and his government.

I make no judgment about the capacity of that government, but I do make this observation. You will recall that there was a Fretilin conference at which Prime Minister Alkatiri was reindorsed as president of Fretilin, apparently on a show of hands. However, there was no secret ballot. This, of course, was disparaged by the international media, certainly the Australian media, as a sign that the country and the Fretilin were not committed to democracy. I note that over the weekend this government took great pride in the fact that it subverted an attempt by the Japanese at the International Whaling Commission to have a secret ballot and was able to claim victory as a result of the decisions taken at the International Whaling Commission. I make no observation other than to say that one man’s meat is another man’s poison and, in this case, the government ought to understand that I do not think it does it well for it or some of its officials or, indeed, the media, to make the sorts of observations and judgments that were made in the case of Timor-Leste and not make similar judgments in similar sets of circumstances in other forums. It seems to me it is a contradiction that also shows some sense of hypocrisy.

In any event, we have a task ahead of us to secure the community of Timor-Leste to ensure that they have a long and viable future as a stable democracy. We need to do everything we possibly can to assist them. The Australian troops, I know, will do their job well. They are well equipped. We want to make sure that they can maintain their ability to do the task that they have been set. We need to make sure that decisions taken by the Australian government are in accord with what the international community believes is important for us as a community, but also most importantly for the international community, in terms of sustaining this small new democracy into the future.

I know that the Australian government at the moment is not thinking about this because it believes that the Australian forces should be based there on a bilateral arrangement with the Timor-Leste government—but I wonder whether it would perhaps be more appropriate if they were there under blue berets and that they were not a leader of a coalition of the willing, if you like, but in fact a United Nations sanctioned occupation force under United Nations rules and regulations and under the blue beret, where Australia might be the lead nation. I know that that could well be something of great debate, but I think it is important that we understand our position and realise that in the longer term it probably does not suit us to be seen as an occupying force. It would be far better to be seen as being part of a United Nations sanctioned force rather than just on a bilateral arrangement.

I want to complete my contribution by making some observations about a book I recently read about the occupation of East Timor by Australian forces in 1942—the 2nd/2nd commandos. I feel passionately about this issue of Timor-Leste and the importance of us supporting this community into the future—supporting its government and supporting the President with the Prime Minister and the foreign minister. President Gusmao has, I understand, only last week or a week or two ago made Jose Ramos Horta defence minister as well as foreign minister. It is important that we support them in their roles, ensure that they can work together and ensure that we do not do anything to undermine their capacity to govern appropriately.

I go back to 1942 and this book which is called All the Bull’s Men. It is about the 2nd/2nd commandos who were in East Timor trying to rebuff the Japanese occupation, working with the Dutch and the Portuguese—the Dutch in West Timor and the Portuguese in East Timor. It is about the trials and tribulations of that force, the support they received from the East Timorese community and the punishment that was meted out to the East Timorese community by the Japanese as a result of their assisting the Australian forces.

The Australian troops never forgot that, and I know that some of the most strident supporters of the quest for independence by the East Timorese have been members of the 2nd/2nd Commando Association. I say that because my father was a member of that association—not that he served in East Timor, but he was a member of the 2nd/2nd commandos subsequently. I knew many of those men, many of whom have passed on. What they told me in the time that I knew them was of sacrifices that were made for them by the East Timorese. I think that we, as a nation, can never forget it. Despite the disparaging comments that might be made about certain individuals in East Timor—the Prime Minister in East Timor or whoever—we have an obligation as a community to understand the sacrifices which were made on our behalf by the East Timorese in the Second World War and that saved many Australian lives at great cost to themselves.

It is asserted that up to 40,000 East Timorese died during the Japanese occupation. I think the Australian force was somewhat less than about 300. They were able to frustrate the Japanese for 12 months by running a very effective guerrilla war with the support of the East Timorese community. We must never forget that and, when we are contemplating what our role should be—now and into the future of East Timor—we must ensure that whatever happens, whatever the outcome, we sustain the desire for independence, the desire for democracy and that we do everything we possibly can to support them.

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