The bridge
UN liaison officers continue as the mission draws down

Capt Peter Bradley a United Nations Military Observer in East Timor in 2003 meets with some villagers in the Oecussi enclave. UN officers will continue in a liaison role under the new UN mandate. Photo by Flt-Lt Tania Smith, MPA

From Pte John Wellfare in East Timor

THE mediating role of UN officers stationed along East Timor’s border with Indonesia will continue with little change under the new UN mandate.

The UN-employed officers from a number of countries, including Australia, have been acting unarmed in the role of providing a link between the PKF and the Indonesian authorities on the opposite side of the border for several years under the UNTAET and UNMISET mandates.

Capt Dave Jones, the Australian officer based in Motain on the Indonesian side of the border, said performing the tasks required of a UN liaison officer presented a number of challenges that would continue as the total responsibility for East Timor’s border security fell into the hands of East Timorese government agencies.

“The Timor Leste people – this has been going on for four years – have developed a trust in the UNMO’s role and what we do,” he said.

“They know that we represent, not a government, but the United Nations. So when we talk to them it’s not talking to them as an Australian officer or as a Swedish officer or a Malaysian officer, we’re talking to them as a representative of the UN.

“They see that we’re not carrying weapons. If we were to carry a side arm or something, straight away they would back off. It’s intimidating to have someone in front of you with a weapon.”

Swedish Army Maj Tommas Persson said the East Timorese faced a number of internal challenges as the UN withdrew, many of which had little to do with the situation along the border.

“It’s very easy to say to the world that they have become independent and democratic, but this will take ages before they want to run this country on the proper level,” he said.

“Right now they can’t do it without the UN’s help or without any other party to help them.

“The TCL is one thing and their former struggles is one thing, but the real problem is actually how to maintain the country for the future.”

Maj Persson said he expected the task of mediating between the Indonesians and East Timorese along the border would be easier than the two countries’ troubled history might suggest to the casual observer.

“Before we focused on the whole area of responsibility, but now we go down and limit our focus to the [border],” he said.

“The main purpose is ... to help both sides to start communicating with each other, which is not a problem because both parties, they would like to communicate and they very much appreciate our effort and our support that we give to them.

“The big problem is lack of communication skills, lack of communication materials, like radios and other things, vehicles, equipment to do what they are tasked to do.”

The mediating role of UN liaison officers is likely to remain a crucial element of the UN’s involvement in East Timor until the end of the mandate in either six or 12 months.