United States Agency for International
Development
Bureau for Humanitarian Response
Office of Transition Initiatives
Program Description
OTI's goal is to help secure and encourage a political, social and economic environment conducive to the democratic nation building process during East Timor's transition to independence. Current programmatic priorities include a community stabilization initiative through the Transitional Engagement for Population Support program (TEPS II), assistance to independent media outlets to provide balanced and widely disseminated information, support to local Timorese organizations negatively impacted by the violence in September 1999, and funding for civic education programs in advance of nationwide elections scheduled for late 2001. OTI/East Timor's FY2000 budget was $12,537,000, of which $10,950,000 were Economic Support Funds. OTI's FY2001 budget is currently being finalized.
Country Situation
In October, 771 people returned spontaneously from West to East Timor, bringing the total number of returnees since October 1999 to just over 170,000 people. Although there have been no organized returns since the September deaths of three UNHCR staff in Atambua, there are on-going talks between the UN and the Government of Indonesia about the possibility of re-starting the process. No organized returns will be planned until after the mid-November UN Security Council Mission to East Timor and Indonesia. In terms of security issues within East Timor, there continue to be reports of movements by armed militia, but sightings have decreased and for the time being, the situation is considered to be under control.
The revamped thirty-six member National Council (NC) has been sworn in and by the end of October it was meeting regularly. Most initial sessions were devoted to budget issues, but there is a larger agenda of draft legislation that will need to be reviewed in the coming months. On the political front, the future of the National Commission for Timorese Resistance (CNRT) is unclear with the apparent departure of two parties (Fretilin and UDT) from the coalition. Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos Horte remain at the head of the CNRT, and in recent weeks have opted to take positions within the UN-led transitional government. Xanana Gusmao is serving as the head of the National Council and Jose Ramos Horta has been sworn in as the East Timor Transitional Administration's Foreign Minister.
There continues to be progress on the Falantil issue. The new defense force will number 1,500 soldiers, with approximately 600 trained by late next year. In terms of reintegrating Falantil members who opt to become civilians, there are on-going discussions between a number of principal parties (including Falantil leaders, UNTAET, the World Bank and IOM) and a plan of action should be ready by mid-November. OTI expects to provide support for this reintegration program.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
All outstanding Transitional Employment Program (TEP) grants are closed and the follow-on phase of the new community-focused TEPS II program is fully operational. By the end of October, eighteen TEPS II grants were approved, a large procurement operation was set in motion, and a call for proposals had gone out to a new group of four districts. In an extremely positive development in the media sector, the Canadian aid agency CIDA gave a large grant to the OTI-supported Print Consortium. Recognizing the critical need to disseminate information more widely across East Timor, OTI is working with the World Bank on an initiative to create local reporter units in a national radio network. These units will serve as a training ground for what will eventually begin community radio stations with funding from the Bank's Community Empowerment Program. In terms of civil society programming, OTI continues to participate in UNTAET-led coordination meetings that are attempting to devise a national framework for civic education. Progress is being made and it appears that collaboration is improving with local NGOs.
B. Grants Activity Summary
Since October 1999, OTI/East Timor has approved 161 in-kind grants totaling $7,702,729.
Grants by Sector:
- 61 Employment Grants -- $4,104,697
- 42 Civil Society Grants -- $1,222,833
- 36 Community Stabilization Grants -- $754,820
- 16 Media Grants -- $1,273,030
- 6 Governance Grants -- $347,349
C. Indicators of Success
- OTI has received positive publicity for rehabilitating the main University of East Timor building. The building's completion has helped to leverage further funding support for the university.
- Due to intensive pre-planning, the first round of eighteen TEPS II grants was approved within two weeks and procurement information was immediately sent to Surabaya for processing.
- In addition to printing the widely read Timor Post daily newspaper and two weekly/biweekly news publications, the OTI-funded Print Consortium has performed commercial contracts that have earned it 100 million Rupiah.
- Returning refugees from border areas in West Timor have confirmed that people are listening to broadcasts from the OTI-supported radio station in Maliana. UNHCR plans to use the station for greater information dissemination into West Timor.
- Serving as a focal point for reconciliation activities, the OTI-funded Suai Peace and Reconciliation Center has begun capacity building and reconciliation trainings for Timorese who live in the key border district of Suai.
D. Program Appraisal
In the media sector, OTI continues to play a lead role in both coordination and funding. Recognizing the critical need for information dissemination throughout East Timor, OTI is focusing on media outlets outside the confines of the capital. Negotiations are nearly complete on a grant to the Timor Post for opening a bureau in Baucau, and CIDA has indicated its willingness to fund a similar office in Suai. There have been discussions with the World Bank and UNTAET to create local reporting stations that will be attached to a radio network that should go nationwide by the end of November. It is hoped that OTI's support for these radio initiatives, coupled with a smaller community-based radio station in Maliana, will contribute to a wider spread of objective information, especially to the large numbers of East Timorese who remain as refugees in West Timor.
Coupled with OTI's support for a smaller community-based radio station in Maliana, it is hoped that these radio initiatives will contribute to a wider spread of objective information and especially to the large numbers of East Timorese who remain as refugees in West Timor.
OTI remains focused on civic education needs and is participating in discussions on UNTAET's coordination and implementation role. Though still attempting to encourage civic education initiatives that link a wide number of local partners, OTI is exploring options for funding individual local NGOs that are already implementing activities outside of Dili. In an effort to further support a broad-based and increasingly active coalition known as the NGO Forum, OTI wrote two grants to fund a pilot office in Suai and to set up an Information Technology operation in the NGO Forum's Dili office. The latter grant will be used to expand Internet access to more people, provide computer servicing to all local NGOs that received OTI funding late last year, and open a computer training center for local NGO staff.
TEPS II continues to take shape, and at the end of October OTI funded eighteen grants for projects in four districts. Recognizing that fast and efficient procurement is a linchpin of the program, the Surabaya-based purchasing and shipping groundwork was already in place, permitting OTI/East Timor's contractor, Development Alternatives International, to immediately begin work on grant implementation. Supplies for this first round of TEPS II are expected in Dili by mid-November. For the second TEPS II round, a call for proposals was published in early October.
NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
OTI will continue to focus on TEPS II, the print and electronic media and support for local civil society groups. Although UNTAET's civic education strategy remains under discussion, an overall framework is beginning to emerge and it is hoped that a more coordinated environment will provide increasing opportunities for OTI programming support. In the media sector, there is a clear need to expand information flows outside of Dili, and OTI will continue to address this issue. The World Bank, UNTAET and OTI are in the final stages of negotiating funding support for a local broadcasting component to a national network system. Also, OTI is exploring opportunities to support wider dissemination of several daily and weekly publications. Regarding the TEPS II initiative, by the end of November four districts are expected to submit approximately twenty-five proposals for OTI review. During November there will be more intensive discussions about the reintegration of ex-Falantil fighters, in close coordination with the World Bank and East Timorese leadership. OTI expects to provide support for reintegration activities once plans are finalized.
For more information, please contact:
In East Timor, OTI/East Timor Country Manager Justin Sherman, tel. 62-811-980-018, e-mail: Justin_Sherman@dai.com.
In Washington, Asia Team Leader Larry Meserve, 202-712-5458, e-mail: lmeserve@usaid.gov or Chris O'Donnell, tel. 202-712-0174, or codonnell@usaid.gov.