MARI ALKATIRI is a senior member of the Fretilin Central Committee in exile. He was interviewed in Sydney for Green Left Weekly by Max Lane.
Could you tell us why you are visiting Australia?
I have received a mandate from the leadership inside East Timor to reconstruct Fretilin outside. This is the first stage. And then to reconstruct the representation of the whole movement outside.
As you know, we now have a special representative [Jose Ramos Horta]. We think that now CRNM [National Council of Maubere Resistance] should build up a unified body outside East Timor, so we are trying to get together Fretilin, the UDT and the special representative to build such a unified body to represent the struggle inside the country.
Does Fretilin have majority support amongst the East Timorese community in Australia?
Yes, we have both militants and sympathisers, including patriots who support Fretilin essentially because they see it as the main force inside Timor.
How do you evaluate the resolution in Geneva recently which condemned Indonesia on East Timor?
It was good. Australia supported the motion; we congratulate the Australian government. The United States co-sponsored the resolution, which was the first time.
We would like to see the votes by the United States and Australia as a change in their position. We are going to do our best to get Australia to adhere to this new position because Australia is the closest democratic country to East Timor. We don't understand why Australia is always on the side of Indonesia.
The Australian [delegation] said it would be better
for them if there had been no resolution. They tried to get cooperation from the US and Europe, but they were still trying to maintain their compromise with Indonesia. Indonesia still maintained its hardline position fighting for the recognition of East Timor's incorporation into Indonesia. There was no change in that.
Australia seems to be motivated by economic interests, such as the Timor Gap Treaty. On the other hand, perhaps, from the beginning, they did not have confidence in the guerilla movement. They thought we could only resist for one, two or three years. But in fact, we have been resisting for over 15 years and we still have a perspective in the future. That is why we think it is time for the Australian government to rethink their position on East Timor.
What has been the impact of the capture and trial of Xanana in East Timor?
It was dreadful, but the leadership inside the country is organised for disasters such as this. The leadership has been able to initiate attacks during this last period, with some success.
The resistance is being rebuilt not only in the countryside but also in the towns. The guerillas will have to press the Indonesian forces more and more, to get them to look for them in the countryside. Falantil [the guerilla armed forces] is still able to recruit people to fight in the mountains. Military actions started up again after the arrest of Xanana.
At the same time, the main support of the resistance is high school students. Most of the people who died in the November massacre in Dili were young people, high school students. This means that the continuity of the struggle is also assured.
What would an independent East Timor do about the Timor Gap Treaty and Indonesia?
We would accept this treaty, not as a whole but as a basis for discussion. As for Indonesia, they are our neighbours and we wish to have good relations with them.
Meanwhile, however, at the negotiations in Rome we do not expect much to come out. Portugal and Indonesia have clearly different positions. Portugal defends the East Timorese right to self-determination. The Indonesians are going there to try to get recognition for integration of East Timor into Indonesia.
Our priorities now are to further unite the East Timorese people in their efforts and to seek the support of democratic and humanitarian organisations.