No Violence Please! Toppling the government by hook or by crook - Mari Alkatiri, leader of the opposition

Mari Alkatiri, as head of the Fretilin party, is adamant about never letting his colleagues cut the government any slack. When his party won 29% of the votes in the latest elections the other three parties were straggling far behind. But this trio quickly formed an illegal coalition to seize power. What followed was the first forceful demonstration of Fretilin's resolution to have its voice heard during a parliamentary budget debate and MPs were compelled to continue debating non-stop, day and night, for an entire week in early October.

Mari Alkatiri

© Hegel Goutier

Alkatiri told The Courier that from the outset:

We will not incite people to use violence, but we will deploy all the legal methods and means we can to oppose the initiatives of what is a de facto illegal government. We will force it to resign and we are prepared to work for two years if necessary to make this happen. Right now, we are giving it 12 months to show just how incapable they are of solving the country's woes.

The government is the outcome of free elections and your party is in a minority position compared with the ruling coalition.

I agree to that, but the Prime Minister's appointment is unconstitutional. Under the terms of the constitution, the government has to be headed by the party that won the elections. That is Fretilin. The constitution spells out clearly what to do in such a situation. A coalition has to be announced prior to the election. Indeed, the electoral law is quite clear on this point.

In what scenario would your sense of duty to the State lead you to vote in favour of a government proposal?

We are not going to help this government to succeed. Let me tell you that this government doesn’t have a programme, just vague declarations of intent. Now it has tabled a motion for emptying the State's coffers. When I handed over the reigns of power the treasury was full.

Some say your disciplined management policy resulted in a paradox: a rich country with an impoverished population.

That’s not right; it’s just talk. In fact, the budget situation improved tremendously during our time in office. In August 2005 the figure was US$85 million, but the oil resources helped us to raise this to US$140 million. By August 2007 it stood at US$327 million.

Also, there’s more to a budget than money. Experience is of vital importance and this is something the present government seems to lack. I think it is wasteful. Consider this, US$4 million has been spent in the last two and a half months on the tourism industry. And for what?

Remember, the public sector is the country's largest employer; hence the need to boost the sector's capacities. The private sector must also be assisted to become a true private sector.

Why do you say a true private sector? Do you have some misgivings about it?

Not really, but the private sector here is almost completely made up of contractors involved in implementing projects for UNDP, the European Commission or the government. It is not a real private sector and so it needs help in developing into one. During my time in office, I was responsible for agreeing a World Bank project to properly develop the private sector.
Independent of the oil revenues as well?

I’d like to think so. When I left office the country didn’t owe one penny to anyone. People talk of poverty, but I have lived for years in Africa, so I know what poverty really is. This country has the resources to plan its development in a considered fashion rather than rushing headlong into who knows what. Following independence, I gave myself six months to eradicate the major pockets of poverty. In late 2002, 17% of the population had access to electricity; by the end of 2004 the figure was 47%. Furthermore, we had 400 doctors in 2004 compared with just 20 in 2002.

As for good governance, here’s an example: in 2002 in Dili the electricity was free. The rate of recovery was 80% in 2005. In light of the government's outrageous pronouncements, the collection rate sank again to 20%.

Take another example: the government has decided to give churches cumulative subsidies -- direct subsidies and other donations so parents do not have to pay school fees. But in reality, the schools haven’t phased out these fees at all. Surely, it would have been wiser to pay the teachers in the Christian schools.

So, the two most powerful institutions in the country are apparently the church and Fretilin?

As the government cannot lend its support to Fretilin, it gives it to the church.

Hegel Goutier

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