Timor Leste

"Peace Building in Timor Leste: a third way?"

In 2010, Timor Leste will have to deal with the social aspects of the reintegration process.  This most challenging process means addressing the deep structural difficulties attached to the reintegration of returnees, as well as the residual obstacles triggered by the 2006 crisis.

Firstly, Timor Leste is one of the poorest countries in the world. 50% of its population currently lives with under $0.88/day. Due to structural poverty, people in Timor Leste have great difficulty accessing livelihood, jobs and social facilities, especially in Dili.
Indeed, since 1999, the population of Dili has grown spectacularly from 100.715 to 173.541, increasing the pressure on natural and economical resources. According to Neupert and Lopes, around 50% of this growth is the result of major internal migrations. (The demographic components of the crisis in Timor Leste - 2006). In such a context, when working on the return of IDPs, it is important to address the structural lack of social and economical resources and to compose with unemployment-related frustrations.

Secondly, the justice system’s flaws generate a culture of impunity by making it impossible to prosecute those considered responsible for burning houses, chasing people and occupying properties in 2006. Returnees now have to face a neighbourhood community that is sometimes unreceptive, in a situation that appears dominated by frustrated justice.
Furthermore, the national administration is still young and cannot yet manage disputes generated by land and property issues. Indeed, even if a new land law should be voted in the next weeks, land issues remain extremely complex in Timor Leste due to the historical lack of land policies and the successive occupations and displacements of the population. Facts reveal that “normal restitution” of houses takes time and that it is far from being complete. According to IDMC’s December report, by November 2009 the cadastral information programme supported by USAID had recorded 5,800 land claims in 6 districts.

In addition, many youth groups, particularly in Dili, have a strong sway over the growing level of violence. According to the TLAVA Project report, the amount of Martial Arts Groups (MAG) has escalated in recent years. There are allegedly 20,000 members currently registered – and probably at least as many unregistered members. The influence of MAGs extends over at least 13 districts and Dili appears to be their main battleground. Based on the analysis of TLAVA, MAG disputes embody communal ones as each community mobilizes its youth to defend its territory. When one family uses a MAG to attack another family, in return, MAG members from other families or extended families become involved. Thus, a family dispute can become a gang conflict. Within the reintegration process, because issues surrounding properties and resources directly impact the communities' acceptance of returning IDPs, it is important to keep in mind the destabilisation potential of Youth conflicts.

Such factors of tension intensify the risk of local conflict in Timor Leste, especially in Dili. By exacerbating new types of social antagonism, such tensions directly impact the political reconciliation process that is officially underway in Timor Leste. These social tensions appear between hosted and returned people but more generally between the communities themselves.

Since 2007, in order to facilitate the return of IDPs, several institutions and humanitarian agencies have explored two key areas of conflict mitigation activities:

1. Conflict resolution through case-by-case mediation activities
2. Dialogue initiatives between local leaders and civil society through conflict prevention training

We believe that mediation and local leader training strategies are indispensable but could be improved with a more inclusive approach. The peace building process could be strengthened with special emphasis placed on enhancing the role of the community itself, not only that of leaders or individuals involved in a particular dispute.

In the current framework, specific actions focused on strengthening social cohesion at grass roots level could be further developed, and new alternative approaches could be explored with regards to reconciliation-based activities.

Several interviews with chiefs of Sucos with high rates of returned households revealed that punctual strategies (such as mediation activities) or specific strategies (such as dialogue with the local leaders) have real but incomplete results. Authorities of these Sucos expressed their wish to see the entire community involved on a deeper level and more sustainably through extended peace-building activities.

While conflict resolution initiatives based on case-by-case mediation activities can theoretically achieve sustainable local integration (by solving disputes one by one), we believe that local integration initiatives for IDPs can also be a good solution to build peaceful relationships.

By local integration, we mean community-based initiatives that mixed individuals from different groups around regular and common activities. This approach does not directly solve specific problems such as land or property issues, however it provides means, capacities and facilities to the community groups able to develop inclusive local initiatives.

Local integration strategy implies targeting both returnees and host communities, therefore building a global community-based approach. It means that returnees should no longer be identified as a group of concern. This implies providing equal access to livelihoods and humanitarian services. Although it seems clear that some of the root causes of the social tensions can be addressed by the political channel, through justice, security or land reforms, a great part of the solution consists in strengthening social cohesion to convince people that they can move on, create and achieve local projects together.

The selection of local groups able to involve their community in collective and creative projects can be a powerful and positive way to stimulate social ties. Supporting local groups of activity (such as painting, handicraft, sewing) that are based on participation and spread an inclusive message is a way to promote peace. Such groups currently embody the future of a unified and reconciled Timor Leste. Supporting, promoting and guiding community initiatives that already exist in a young state can powerfully boost the reconciliation process.

Thus, peacebuilding strategies should be extended at the psychosocial level. This consists in encouraging and supporting collective grass-roots projects offering activities that empower openness and non-discrimination. Such experiences have already revealed their impact at local level. Of course, supporting these groups requires specific methodologies in order to prevent and address issues related to constitution and sustainability of the groups.

We believe that within the current national recovery process, this type of inclusive action should be strengthened and valued as a possible “third way” in the global peace building strategy.