Support Timor Leste!

A news report, “Bid to join Asean awaits acceptance”, on Oct 28, reveals the stunted mentality of Singapore which appears to lead a pitiful opposition to the Asean membership of Timor Leste.

Timor Leste is an accredited member of the United Nations, fully accepting and meeting with the obligations of its membership. The concerns of Singapore “over the country’s lack of human resource capability” to cope with the exigencies of Asean meetings, are groundless. The dignity and suitability of Timor Leste’s membership was affirmed by a UN General Assembly unanimous vote of approval, on Sept 27, 2002. Introducing the draft resolution to admit Timor Leste into the United Nations, Portugal’s Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durão Barroso proclaimed Timor Leste a “triumph of the human spirit”. “Though it was only now being admitted to the United Nations, the country had, for some time, belonged to the family of nations. Timor Leste’s achievement was a reminder of the faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small.”

Now that Timor Leste aspires to membership of a regional grouping of nations, Singapore raises the issue of suitability. The first ground of opposition was that Timor Leste had little to contribute economically to Asean. Since when has there been a condition of economic contribution to membership of a regional association of countries?

Truly, Singapore, is over admiring of itself in the mirror of economic achievement, and short on pointing to the economic benefits it shares with its fellow member countries. Now it has changed its opposition to a doubt about the ability of Timor Leste to pay for its travel expenses to participate in a “large number of Asean meetings”. The objection is patently nonsensical, Asean venues and travel costs are certainly lower than those to New York or Geneva. But all of Singapore’s quibbles are as nothing, compared to the contribution to be expected from the voice of Timor Leste to the forum of Asian affairs.

The salute of the prime minister of Portugal to the “triumph of the human spirit” in the achievement of Timor Leste, alludes to the glory of its long war for independence, in contrast to the dubious emergence of Singapore as an independent country. But Timor Leste brings a standard of statehood and respect for the rights of its citizens which are unique to the Asean experience. The valued contribution of Timor Leste to Asean will be lessons in the achievement of such values. However, to appreciate them Singapore would be advised to establish an embassy in Dili, separate from its Indonesian base. A particular value and incentive to Asean will be the inclusion among its members of another country which has constitutionally chosen abolition of the death penalty. DANTHONG BREEN Union for Civil Liberty