With slightly less than 4 weeks to go to parliamentary elections, campaigning has started. I have not seen any campaign rallies but there is clear evidence of activity with the spread of party posters around the place.
There have been a few deaths of late which may or may not be specifically linked to the election process. The general situation in Dili has not changed much and the ongoing security incidents have really been going non-stop but it seems nowhere near as serious as January/February or parts of last year.
One sign of increased tensions is the number of usually young men hanging around in small groups at various locations. It just seemed that this was up today. Viqueque and Ermera have probably been running at a higher tension level and even Baucau has had a few problems lately.
OZ changed the travel advisory to specifically name Viqueque as an area to avoid following a couple of deaths over the weekend. I would expect things to ebb and flow over the next 4 weeks, but Dili may not be the main problem area this time. We’ll see.
Hey Squatter,
This is complete off-topic. I’m an American with somewhat of a fixation about Timor-Leste. Most of my information gathering comes from you or BBC reports and Wikipedia. I have been reading about an airline called East Timor Air that supposedly launced in 2002. Did this ever occur and has the airline gone bankrupt or did it never (pardon the pun) get off the ground?
Thanks for keeping us so very well enlightened with all of your information.
Glenn
I know nothing about such an airline but I am but a pup here. I only know of AirNorth and Merpati.
But jeez mate, that’s some fixation you have. Maybe an aspirin and a bit of a lie-down will help.
Genn,
I heard there was a Air Kakatua airline. It was supposed to run from Dili to Kupang and Dili Denpassar but could not competewith Merpati. It did make some flights withat a maiden flight to Kupang. It used a turboprop aircraft.
I heard of Timor Air too, I am not sure if that idea ever got off the ground.
Anyway see: http://www.etan.org/et2002a/march/17-23/21aiming.htm
Glenn,
I heard there was a Air Kakatua airline. It was supposed to run from Dili to Kupang and Dili Denpassar but could not competewith Merpati. It did make some flights withat a maiden flight to Kupang. It used a turboprop aircraft.
I heard of Timor Air too, I am not sure if that idea ever got off the ground.
Anyway see: http://www.etan.org/et2002a/march/17-23/21aiming.htm