DILI 3rd May 2006 -- As the situation in East Timor's
capital, Dili, began to return to normal after the May 1st national
holiday, the Superior of the vice province, Fr Calleja, celebrated Mass
for the boarders at the Centec Don Bosco Centre in Comoro, syaing "We
are proud of you, serving thousands of refugees, collecting garbage,
giving a hand day and night without respite". There are still
families - yesterday as many as a thousand people - who linger at the
compound, unsure of what awaits them out there in 'normal' Dili.
For a few there is no home left to return to. It was estimated
that at one stage during the disturbance the number of people in the
compound reached around 10,000.
The Dili Diocese issued two communiqués during the
events, one establishing clearly that the Church is not involved in
'party' politics, but rather has the task of forming consciences for
the common good, and the other stating clearly that the Church is
against violence (this was issued after the burning down of the market)
and wants to foster dialogue. The communiqué appealed to young
people not to choose a violent solution, and to the Government for a
just solution for the 595 sacked soldiers whose circumstances sparked
the events, though other elements largely fuelled the fires, both
literally and metaphorically.
The Government has promised to set up a commission
to study a just solution to the soldiers' complaints. This
commission will have Church representatives in it as well as
politicians and other citizens. Meanwhile newspapers and the
rumour mill in Dili point a finger at a Government minister with a
shady past in diamond dealing and smuggling in Angola, and who heads a
prostitution racket in Dili itself - in the popular mind he represents
a cause for the recent problems. More astute observers believe
there are much wider forces at work. The Government, at least in
terms of its leadership, has strong Marxist leanings; the island is now
as it was many years before, split along ethnic lines (Loromonu from
the west and Lorosae from the east). For some elements, an
unstable situation suits their purposes - there is a Fretilin Congress
in May and national elections to follow.
In the midst of all this, an Extraordinary
Visitation was brought to a close! Understandably, much
discussion focused on the importance of formation at all levels.
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