Timor-Leste Elections: Lessons For US Media & Policy-Makers
The US media’s/bloggers’ obsession with things/issues American is an old and familiar story. Some say that the US media projected Mr George W. Bush in such a way during the initial stages of Iraq war, that even the US president was led to have faith in his own rhetoric! …And the rest is history.
The first Persian Gulf War in 1990 changed the character and complexion of the, by and large, free and fair American media to a great extent…And now the media is finding it difficult to get out of that ‘embedded’ journalism mindset/syndrome. This is a subject for another post some other time.
Let me return to this present post. It never hurts to have a look at the world beyond the American shores, especially when some very distinguished persons in other countries become heads of state under very trying circumstances – for example in Timor-Leste.
And there may be something for us all to learn from such countries.
Timor-Leste… What…???
This week, with UN troops and police patrolling the streets, this tiny nation in Southeast Asia of fewer than 1 million people elected José Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace laureate, as their President in a peaceful manner.
Ramos-Horta is the founder of East Timor’s independence movement and spent 24 years in exile after Indonesia invaded his country, earlier known as East Timor. A former journalist, fluent in five languages, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
“Last May, Timor-Leste descended into violence as its police and army collapsed, prompting the hasty dispatch of a UN peacekeeping force,” reports The Economist.
“On Friday May 11th, 2007, the election commission announced that José Ramos-Horta had won a landslide victory over Francisco Guterres, a former guerrilla running under his nom-de-guerre, ‘Lu-Olo’.
“The result, with Mr Ramos-Horta getting 69% to his rival’s 31%, is a crushing defeat for Mr Guterres’s Fretilin party, the resistance movement’s political wing which has governed the country since it gained full independence five years ago.
“It will indeed be a considerable challenge to soothe the bitterness between Timor-Leste’s political factions and end the sporadic clashes between street gangs loosely associated with them. Only then will the tens of thousands who have been living miserably in refugee camps since last year’s violence feel safe to return home. Now is Mr Ramos-Horta’s chance to really earn that Nobel peace prize.”
Please click here to read more…
And for Timor-Leste’s fascinating history please click here…
For the latest BBC story about Ramos-Horta and Timor-Leste please click here…
And for an old but interesting story dating back to May 2002 when Timor-Leste became independent please click here to read the discussion…
Here is Ramos-Horta’s profile…
So Timor-Leste shows that it helps to enlist the support of the United Nations and the comity of nations when the challenges are rather huge when dealing with any country…And it is obvious which country I am referring to here!
The most important lesson is that puppets planted by foreign powers can never run a nation for long. Hence the need to search, and encourage, local leaders with credibility, and capability, to take charge.
16 Responses to “Timor-Leste Elections: Lessons For US Media & Policy-Makers”
When you stop obsessively blogging about Indian and Pakistani issues, then you will have the right to criticize.
Of course American bloggers main focus is about things related to America. But perhaps I have miss all the Middle East, European Union, Australian, African, South American, and Russian issues posted about here, in the MSM, and on many other blogs.
Wait. No I didn’t. There have been TONS lately written about and reported on in those areas. Perhaps you are unhappy that we have ANY discussions of America, or that not every entry is as consistently anti-American and anti-Bush as your body of work.
Or maybe you are jealous that all those other areas I mentioned resonate more than Indian-related issues (and they do) with the American public.
I intentionally made some sweeping statements to invite comments. I am happy to read AustinRoth’s emotional response. I see his point. But let us take the argument a little further.
Agreed that if you belong to a particular country you would be more interested in reading/writing about what’s happening there. It is natural and understandable.
However, when a nation decides to launch a ‘war-against-terror’ covering the whole earth (if not the cosmos) and begins to invade other countries, and then continues to occupy these illegally for years (whatever be the reasons), then the whole scenario undergoes a change.
Then American media and policymakers cannot limit themselves to their own affairs. For the simple reason that the actions (or inaction or bad actions) of the US administration have a bearing on the life and property of people worldwide. Even peace and tranquility is threatened.
I have no issues if the American media and policymakers wish to live in their own world. But then please get out of the countries you are hell bent on devastating. So long the American troops are asked to continue to occupy foreign lands, the American media/policymakers/common citizens will have to take notice of things outside their immediate areas of interest.
American media and policymakers, by and large, do not seem to be intersted in knowing about the cultures and complexities of the countries the US troops have been sent to invade, or were allowed to fiddle around with. This bull in the China shop situation is creating a havoc worldwide.
I have been blogging for more than a year but I have yet to read any story which brings out the plight of an average citizen in Iraq or Afghanistan. Yes, there are some honourable exceptions, but you can count them on your fingers.
On the other hand, I have now felt that the tone and tenor of the writings in the US suggest that the people in Afghanistan and Iraq are somehow deserving of their horrible plight.
One can understand the myopia and utter selfishness of a few top leaders, and the suicidal course they have chosen to follow, but why should thinking people anywhere in the world support such barbaric and ruthless actions, especially when they consider themselves as a superior civilization?
Austin – Shush!
Swaaraj – as far as I know, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were justified and are legal.
Swaaraj,
Great post! Well thought out… Well organized… and Well said! Thanks.
Holly,
I had some not-so-nice observations on your comment to Swaaraj but thought better of it before hitting the Submit Comment button.
Instead I will ask for your “center-left” views on the justification(s) for our going to war with Iraq.
Swaraaj,
Quick point on ‘obsession’ part: US, like any other country, shows more interest only on those things that are important to its policies and politics. It probably explains why Musharraff’s visit to Washington carries more media coverage than Indian Prime Minister’s visit.
Same thing can be said about Indian media. Indian News outlets have an American obsession as well. How many Indians are interested in news from Russia , Spain or genocide in Darfur?
I too used to get baffled by the quality of ‘World Reports’ here which sometimes might include a story from Florida! Again, there is nothing wrong – this is not very different from what happens in other countries. It would be wrong to pick only on American media/ journalists.
Swaraaj -
Swaraaj -
So, I assume that you agree that India should be out of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
Holly – Shush? Quite frankly, who are you to shush anyone? And what gives you the right? You especially should not being telling people that they shouldn’t be expressing their views and feelings.
If you have an objection to what I am saying, then say so, and answer them. In the meantime, I will continue to express myself as I see fit here, within the rules, I might add.
Thank you AustinRoth. It is important to occasionally hold up a mirror…
So if an Indian holds up a mirror for an American to have a look, or the other way round, it always serves a purpose.
[...] The latest comes from a commenter after I wrote a somewhat provocative post. Please click here if you wish to read the post and the comment… [...]
[...] The Moderate Voice announces José Ramos Horta victory in East Timor’s presidential elections and sees the process as an example the US should follow in Iraq. From the other side, Timor Online comment that FRETILIN [former ruling party] “was beaten by a convergence of global strategic and oil interests with the interests of an aspirational new middle class, the educated, the civil servants, the small business people, the UN and NGO workers“. The elections occurred in peace, but the party’s blog is reporting that after the results “several Fretilin members have been intimidated and have had their houses set on fire“. Share This [...]
[...] It never hurts to have a look at the world beyond the American shores, especially when some very distinguished persons in other countries become heads of state under very trying circumstances – for example in Timor-Leste. … …more [...]
[...] It never hurts to have a look at the world beyond the American shores, especially when some very distinguished persons in other countries become heads of state under very trying circumstances – for example in Timor-Leste. … …more [...]
[...] get back on track after the euphoria of independence was shaken by communal bloodshed last year. Timor-Leste Elections: Lessons For US Media & Policy-Makers It never hurts to have a look at the world beyond the American shores, especially when some very [...]
[...] It never hurts to have a look at the world beyond the American shores, especially when some very distinguished persons in other countries become heads of state under very trying circumstances – for example in Timor-Leste. … …more [...]
[...] It never hurts to have a look at the world beyond the American shores, especially when some very distinguished persons in other countries become heads of state under very trying circumstances – for example in Timor-Leste. … …more [...]
[...] It never hurts to have a look at the world beyond the American shores, especially when some very distinguished persons in other countries become heads of state under very trying circumstances – for example in Timor-Leste. … …more [...]