austraLasia
1574
Rector Major
applauds East Timor's Salesians for 'formidable approach' to their people in
need
ROME: 5th June 2006 -- With a
reminder that he would be gathered with his Councillors in prayer for East
Timor in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Rector Major wrote this weekend to
the Superior of the Vice Province of ITM, Fr Calleja, in response to an update
on the situation there.
Fr Calleja emphasised two things
in particular - that the trouble is largely Dili-centred, and that Salesian work
in other parts of the nation are continuing as normal, and that the efforts of
the confreres based at Comoro, which has seen as many as 15,000 people taking
refuge, have been nothing short of heroic. He added nothing that has not
already been reported in these pages previously, except to dwell a little on the
role of Bro Adriano de Jesus, the 'hero' of recent days for his tireless efforts
to organise life within the compound, take wounded to hospital and keep people
calm in circumstances where violence was in evidence all around. It was
during one of his visits to the hospital that his vehicle was set upon by
roaming thugs. He himself was uninjured but the car was virtually
destroyed, Fr Calleja said.
The largely Australian-led
force of international peace-keepers has done much to bring the general
situation under control in the city, though there are still sporadic outbreaks
of violence, and people have been reluctant to leave the compound at
Comoro. A small group of 'unregistered' refugees fear reprisals
still. The Foreign Minister, now also Minister for Defence since last
Thursday, has been constantly present amongst the people, the warring factions,
and this too has had a calming effect. Today he meets with rebel leaders
in an attempt to address the 'human problems' that have led to the
situation. His analysis of the overall situation is that "you have two
insitutions [army, police] with weapons poorly managed...a-- this coupled with a
weak economy, unemployed youth; it was a problem waiting to
explode".
The hope, at least amongst our own Salesians and
possibly most Timorese, is that the UN will now take a stronger and longer role
especially leading up to the 2007 elections. Kofi Annan said last week, in
reference to the Dili situation that "there has been a sense that we tend to
leave conflict areas too soon". Sukehiro Hasegawa, head of the remaining
UN mission in East Timor, was more blunt: "They need us" he said, hoping the UN
would actually run next year's
elections.
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