Mr Chairman, honoured guests from the diplomatic community, the Government of Japan, from Cambodia and from East Timor, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a very great honour for me to present to you the report on a proceedings of Sub-Group 2 which was assigned the task of discussing "Conflict and Development in the case of East Timor". The members of the Sub-Group were H.E. Mr Martin Ahdjaba, Mr James Batley, Ms Sarah Cliffe, Mr Kenji Isezaki, Mr Kiyokazu Koshida, Mr Teruyoshi Kumashiro, Mr Hiroshi Matsuura, Mr John Renninger, Dr Ines Smyth, Mr Salvador Soares, Ms Flaurie Storie, Mr Toshiya Tsukamoto, Sir Harold Walker and Mr Aiichiro Yamamoto. Keynote remarks were presented by Dr Masako Ishii and Ms Emilia Pires, and I was in the Chair.

In her keynote address, Dr Masako Ishii summed up some of the lessons she learned through participation in a Japan Peace Winds Project to uplift the life of women in Liquica, East Timor. Dr Ishii observed that the work of NGOs in East Timor displays shortcomings, among them haphazard implementation of programs, poor coordination, and a relatively low presence of East Timorese among NGOs. She urged the establishment of a mechanism to facilitate greater and more efficient exchange of information among NGOs and other aid operatives in East Timor. She warned that, without specially devised measures, there was a danger that an "aid industry" could develop in the East Timor economy and that the East Timorese could become overly dependent on aid.

In her keynote remarks, Ms Emelia Pires addressed the potential areas of conflict in East Timorese society. These included unemployment, poor training for success in business and vocational skills, possible conflict between advocates of different political viewpoints, and inter-ethnic tensions. She stressed that preventive measures to deal with these problems should be based on two primary elements: good dissemination of quality information, and high levels of participation by the people of East Timor in all aspects of their development.

The Sub-Group then turned to a general discussion of the issues before it. A number of important practical suggestions emerged. Of particular importance among these was the suggestion that contingency measures be put in place immediately to deal with the economic dislocation and possible conflict expected when the UNTAET administration winds up its mandate in East Timor. The departure of the UN will produce a sudden increase in unemployment especially in urban areas. This will be a very unwelcome threat to the economic and social stability of East Timor in the critical early stages of its independence. The Group recommended that special employment-generating programs be put in place at this time to target this group of unemployed, and that these programs be located mainly in rural areas to draw these skilled but unemployed East Timorese away from the politically and socially sensitive environment of the major urban centres.

Another suggestion that cries out for diplomatic and donor support is that a focussed effort should now be made to encourage the return to East Timor of the NGOs based in Indonesia that operated in the territory during the Indonesian administration. These NGOs are likely to have special skills and local knowledge that would be useful in East Timor's development drive, and their return would make a statement that would be helpful in promoting reconciliation.

The question of women's participation in development and decision-making was discussed at some length. Members of the Group expressed the view that very specific affirmative action is needed to ensure that women participate more fully. Quotas for participation by women in development projects and decision-making processes were seen as desirable and did not necessarily give rise to resentment from men, but such measures needed to be accompanied by long-term capacity building among women to ensure that their participation was more than just "token".

On the particular matter of reconciliation and its relevance to development, the Group came up with several specific suggestions which I believe deserve the urgent attention of NGOs, donor countries and the UN.

In the first place, the consensus of opinion in the Group was that reconciliation develops hand in hand and simultaneously with economic development and with the develpoment of a credible judicial system. Nevertheless, the interface between reconciliation on the one hand, and development and justice on the other, is complex and problematic. For example, the provision of economic incentives to encourage East Timorese refugees in West Timor to return home was likely to be counterproductive since it would almost inevitably give rise to resentment among current residents of East Timor and could threaten the smooth reintegration of returnees into East Timorese society.

Similarly, the Group thought it important that refugees responsible for crimes against the people of East Timor should be held to account for their actions before the law, but that the majority of refugees who were not involved in criminal actions should not be deemed "guilty by association".

To deal with these problems, the Group suggested that diplomatic initiatives and well-funded projects be developed in two particular domains. First, the Indonesian Government needs to be persuaded to allow refugees in camps in West Timor much better access to the mass media of East Timor. In particular, it was suggested that East Timor newspapers be allowed to circulate freely in West Timor and that radio broadcasts from East Timor be directed at refugees in the West. Better information on the security and economic conditions in East Timor would encourage spontaneous repatriation without the necessity for special incentives, still less coercion.

It was also suggested that greater efforts be made to find out the wishes of East Timorese refugees in the West and to document their background and circumstances more adequately. The Indonesian Government again needs to be persuaded to work more effectively to facilitate this. More reliable information about the refugees would enable the innocent to be distinguished from those who may have committed crimes. It was suggested that the judicial facet of reconciliation could be improved if community mediation councils, such as already exist in several places in East Timor (for example in Covalima) to deal with petty crime, were expanded to embrace reconciliation especially reconciliation involving returnees from West Timor.

On the question of reconciliation between the emerging independent state of East Timor and Indonesia, the Group emphasised the importance of trade relations between the two countries. Projects need to be devised and diplomatic initiatives pursued to ensure that trade between Indonesia and East Timor, particularly the border trade between West Timor and East Timor, be stimulated and protected against possible political change or conflict in the two countries. Members of the Group also stressed the importance of supporting East Timor's admission to ASEAN as an important strategy to promote stability in the region and to help engineer long-term reconciliation between East Timor and Indonesia.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the discussions in Sub-Group 2 were broad ranging and it is not possible for me to summarise for you all the issues that were discussed. I apologise to you and the members of the Group for this shortcoming.

In conclusion, I would like to express my thanks to members of the Sub-Group for their valuable input to its deliberations. On behalf of the Sub-Group I would also like to thank Chairman Akashi for his leadership, Mr Oku and his staff for their efficient organisation of the Sub-Group's work and for the Government of Japan for initiating this Symposium.

George Quinn
Chairman

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