ABSTRACT
In this chapter I turn to an examination of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, from 1999 to May 2002. The discussion highlights major aspects of the UN’s nation building efforts as well as the political dynamics between UNTAET and the East Timor Transitional Administration (ETTA). In addition, the chapter will consider some of the challenges encountered in this early phase of state building through an overview of the key issues and events surrounding the first constitutional assembly elections, the writing of the first constitution, and the first presidential elections. I also discuss various developments that had an impact on internal security matters, ranging from issues of disgruntlement and factionalism among the former freedom fighters, the emergence of the millenarian Colimau 2000 movement, the problems of reintegration of former pro-Indonesian members of East Timor society, and the creation of the national army and police force.
Following the August 30, 1999 UN-sponsored referendum in which the people of East Timor overwhelmingly voted for independence, Indonesia declared martial law, which allowed the militias and the Indonesian military to carry out their “scorched earth” plans. As pointed out in the last chapter, civilians were murdered, raped, tortured and around 260, 000 people forced across the border to West Timor (Da Costa 2004:350). The destruction extended to 75 percent of East Timor’s infrastructure (ibid.). As a response to the brutality that ensued, and after international negotiations that reminded Indonesia to honor the original agreement, on September 15 through resolution 1264 the UN Security Council authorized the International Force in East Timor (INTERFET) to restore order and provide security (Crouch 2000:179; Federer 2005:69). The Indonesian parliament approved East Timor’s
independence referendum result on September 19 (Soares 2000:76). On September 20, Australian-led forces arrived in East Timor. INTERFET was a multinational peacekeeping force which consisted of 7,000 troops. The composition was overwhelmingly Australian (4,500 troops) and led by Major-General Cosgrove (ibid.). This multinational force restored peace and security. The restoration of order was followed by the re-establishment of UN
headquarters in Dili under the interim administration of Ian Martin (Dunn 2003:365). The UN Security Council established the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) through resolution 1271/1999 (Guterres 2006:27). By October 25, 1999 Indonesian claims to East Timor were relinquished and UNTAET was mandated through UN resolution 1272 and charged with administering the transition to full independence (Cotton 2004:155; Dunn 2003:365). The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) was Sergio Vieira de Mello, head of UNTAET, who was responsible for carrying out the UN mandate during the transitional custody of East Timor. His authority extended over East Timor’s judicial, executive, and legislative systems (Guterres 2006:27). The UN peacekeeping force (PKF) had the strength of 9,000 troops and military observers and had the task of establishing security, protecting UNATET, and facilitating humanitarian operations (Dunn 2003:365; Federer 2005:69). UNTAET was responsible for engineering the foundations for a new
nation, which was no small task. The mandate included: humanitarian, rehabilitation and development assistance; security and judicial services; support of the development of civil and social services; assistance in capacity building for self-government and in the establishment of an effective administration; and assistance in creating conditions for sustainable development (Downie 2007:30). This extensive range of tasks was focused on nation building through the establishment of democratic institutions that would respect international human rights (Dunn 2003:365). The following sections examine the processes and political dynamics of putting in place a democratic government able to lead a new nation. I also provide an overview of some of the security challenges in the processes of this UN nation engineering experiment.
