I was woken by very loud chopper noise this morning (from the heliport) which seemed to go on for an hour between 5am and 6am.  I thought oh, oh … but then it was different.  It seemed quite static.  Troop movements, I thought ??

As far as I could tell, the day was relatively quiet, except for the shift in emphasis to the districts.  I guess it was only a matter of time.  I don’t know any details but I guess I will know by mid-morning tomorrow what the new deal is.

So Major Alfredo is in Same and there is some form of stalemate (or was when I last heard).  The UN has raised its security and the OZ embassy has been quite specific about Same in their advice.

As for me, I decided that it was OK to go down to Cristo Rei for exercise this evening – first time for a week.  When I left, apart from a number of GNR, I was the only white face.  On my way back, a fleet of UN Police seemed to be headed down that way, but none of the usual civilians.  Maybe I made a strategic error – but I don’t think so.  This part of town is pretty cool.  But it reflects a heightened security environment.  I cycle past an IDP camp that not one week ago, was flinging rocks at passing vehicles.  I wonder if I am getting a bit blase about it all.

The western part of town is not so good.  FatOldSod seems to have some choice neighbours.  The airport is a barrel of laughs.  The Delta area not crash hot either.

The UN election volunteers may have the more interesting lives at the moment.  I smelt rice cooking today so there must be some out there now.  The Leader ANZ ATM is down again.  Traffic lights are on but compliance is variable.  Yogurt is back.

I encourage anyone who encounters anything of note today to post a comment here.

Last Friday’s shooting at the airport carpark by the airport IDP camp seems to have sparked up the anti-foreigner feeling amongst some of the locals.  The incidence of stoning of vehicles driven by foreigners seems to have increased.  Although first assumed to be anti-UN, it seems to have morphed into anti-OZ and even anti-anyone foreign.

I know people who drive around everywhere (or so they say) who have never seen an incident but others who confront this stuff every day.  There seems to be more of it west of the heliport which is an area I try to avoid.  The OZ embassy has been a particularly bad spot for some time, so diversion around the alternative beach road has been my preference for a while.  However, last week even that route was a bit dodgy given that one of the rice warehouses is on that road.  As per last year, the closer you are to the seashore, the safer it seems.

The traffic lights have created problems by stopping vehicles which are subsequently stoned.  I think the general rule is to ignore the traffic lights now.   They should be turned off.

There is a funeral today for one (or both ?) of those who died last Friday.  The word is to practice extreme caution today as anti-OZ sentiment is expected to be high.  I have no plans to get amongst it today and I know several government ministries have pretty much closed down due to repeated rock throwing incidents aimed at their offices.  Some have moved out computer equipment to play it safe.

Lets see how the day pans out.

PS – Teresa – keep reading.

Yesterday was one of those days.  Got off to a flier when there was trouble at the airport at 8:50am and one person was shot and killed by ADF (OZ Defence Force).  The SMS waves were thick with warnings for a while and it was bunker down until a few more details emerged.  The mobile phone system was swamped and unusable for voice calls by mid-morning.

By lunchtime, the security forces claimed things were back to normal, but not before civilians had ramped up all sorts of precautionary measures.  Most expats probably get to the airport quite regularly, either coming or going, or to meet and greet, or to farewell.  It was my turn at lunchtime.  There were a couple of FPUs (formed police units which to us novices, look like riot police) in their special riot vehicles and in the background, about 40 AFP soldiers, who were called away around 1pm.  Otherwise, business as usual.

I guess a complete story will come out in due course, but in the meantime we are stuck with the official story from the ADF and the rumour mill.  The reality is that there are groups that seize on these sorts of incidents and use a bit of truth flexing to fire people up in opposition to the foreign security force presence.

Personally, I don’t believe that OZ defence forces just wade into conflict situations (like an IDP camp) and do stuff without provocation.  But nevertheless, the guy who fired off the fatal rounds is probably going to need counselling for a few weeks as he comes under the hammer.

This followed reports of F-FDTL soldiers firing weapons into the kampongs near Hotel Esplanada on the previous day.  Courtesy of that reliable source of information (the bar) I was told they responded to having their vehicle stoned.

All this comes after a bit of trouble at rice warehouses and subsequent targeting of UN vehicles, which seems to have extended to any foreigner.  A few car windscreens (ie windshields for you northerners) have copped a pounding and any foreigner without shatterproof film on their cars has probably put it on the shopping list by now.

Again courtesy of “the bar”, locals who work at the airport and tend to know a bit of what’s going on down there, have told expats that the funeral is this morning and to expect trouble after the funeral.  The UN police will know this, so things may or may not happen.

A good day to start learning macrame.

For me, the last week has been pretty confusing and all over the place, like flies at a BBQ. (How did I post an article twice – I don’t know !) Hopefully, the last of the big power problems have fizzled away. But the violence appears on the increase again. Election dates have been called and the election campaigns are starting to wind up. There are chronic rice shortages and a perplexing lack of coordinated effort to sort it out.

I received messages yesterday to avoid unnecessary travel due to trouble and the absence of diners at lunchtime at the Beach Cafe or Castaways was a sure sign. (Bicycle now tucked away at home for the time being !) I believe someone from the OZ embassy had their car stoned on arrival at the embassy yesterday. Rock fights and stoning of vehicles reported near City Cafe and One More Bar – places I happily cycled past yesterday. Troubl;e near the Bebonuk rice warehouse. The Fomento building (Ministry of Agriculture) has come under sustained rocking over the last 36 hours. (This is the building that was comprehensively trashed last year.)

I believe the UN police suggest that it is the worst they have experienced since they arrived last year. (Keep in mind they arrived a number of weeks after the military forces had subdued the more serious stuff of last year.)

Rice shortage

The rice shortage has been known about for weeks but nothing much “seems” to have happened. The shops do not have any at the moment and this is a local staple. The World Food Program (WFP) warehouses are said to have stocks but it has also been reported they have been looted. There are other reports that the looting was politically motivated and I have read assertions from both Fretilin and its opposition inferring that the other may have been behind the looting.

When out east a couple of weeks ago, it was quite noticeable that the rice paddies near Baucau were drastically short of water, with perhaps only about 5 to 10% of the paddies in operation. It seems generally accepted that the wet season is about 6 weeks late, with more regular rain only over the last week.

Commission of Truth and Friendship

The international news has tended to concentrate a lot on the Commission of Truth and Friendship at a time when ironically, security issues here have been deteriorating. It seems to have grabbed a bit more attention but I am sure the events of the last 24 hours will swing the action back here again.

Traffic lights

The traffic lights came into operation about 2 weeks ago but at first, for short periods only. I have never seen anything grossly offensive but admit to driving through a red when no traffic was around. Others have reported being overtaken at a red light and today, I was told that no-one is stopping for fear of being a target. Some have dutifully stopped and then been rocked. No, it is not the time to be sitting down and doing a photo shoot on the subject.

The Presidential election

I believe a couple of candidates have put their names forward, with the current PM Jose Ramos Horta expected to so by the end of the week. People were suggesting that the PM was angling for Fretilin backing, but it was not to be as the President of Fretilin Lu’Olu is now the Fretilin candidate.

The Parliamentary elections

The date is still unknown but the real political fight is this election. Australia’s “Age” newspaper reported that the current president Xanana Gusmao was going to be a candidate under the resurrected CNRT party. We will have to wait and see on that one.

UN Police

Well the boys are doing it tough right now. Dare I say the unsayable, but it is pretty obvious that an integrated force from over 20 countries is a bit of a shambles. Command structures and communications are said to be a bit on the disorganised side. We all know how inefficient things get, the bigger the committee.

Weekly Summary

In general, it feels like things have reverted to the way things were in May last year. Lots of ad-hoc security problems and a feeling like things may still get worse. Once the streets get too unsafe, movement of goods and services will start to suffer, fresh fruit and veg supplies may be affected and general food distribution could be a problem for everyone.

As long as the elections are on the forward planning calendar, one feels that we are in for a roller coaster of a ride. And no limes at home … again.