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(If your organization wants to add its name to the statement contact etan@etan.org.) Contact: Juvinal
Dias (La’o Hamutuk/Movimento Kontra Deve), +670-734-8703, juvinal @
laohamutuk.org Groups worldwide urge debt-free Timor-Leste not to borrow Pending loans could endanger Timor's future 8 September 2011 - Timor-Leste and international organizations today urged "the government of Timor-Leste to keep the nation debt-free and refrain from borrowing money from international lenders.... to protect its future generations." The groups argue that "Rather than repeat the mistakes of other developing countries that have struggled with debt during recent decades, Timor-Leste should learn from their experiences, which often inflicted great hardships on their people."
The letter warns that, despite Timor-Leste's current petroleum wealth: "When Timor-Leste's oil and gas run out in less than 15 years, and debts still must be repaid, Timor-Leste's children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences." The letter was initiated by Timor-Leste's Movimento Kontra Deve (Movement Against Debt, facilitated by La’o Hamutuk) and the U.S.-based East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). The full text of the statement in Tetum and English with a complete list of signers can be found below and http://www.laohamutuk.org/econ/debt/2011/11ETANMKDStmt5Sep2011.htm .
Twenty groups in Timor-Leste signed the statement, including the Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis (La’o Hamutuk), NGO Forum, Student Front, Community Leaders Forum, Haburas Foundation and ETADEP. Signing organizations from Timor-Leste’s southeast Asian neighbors include WALHI - Friends of the Earth Indonesia, Freedom from Debt Coalition Philippines, International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) and EARTH (Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand). Other signers include sustainable development advocates and groups that have long supported the people of Timor-Leste, such as Jubilee USA, the International Platform of Jurists for East Timor, Oil Change International (USA), Aidwatch (Australia), Friends of the Earth U.S., Bank Information Center (USA), Tapol (U.K.), CAFOD (U.K.), Japan East Timor Coalition, and the Free East Timor Foundation (VOT, Utrecht, the Netherlands). Income from oil and gas provides 95% of Timor-Leste's state revenue, making the country the most petroleum-export dependent in the world. Although Timor-Leste has not yet borrowed funds from other countries or international financial institutions, the government has passed several laws to enable borrowing, including the 2009 Budget and Financial Management Law, as well as revisions to the Petroleum Fund Law and the new Public Debt Law both passed just two weeks ago. In early August, the Asia Development Bank posted information on its website about a proposed $8.15 million loan to Timor-Leste to upgrade the national road network. The Movimento Kontra Deve is a coalition of civil society organizations in Timor-Leste opposed to the country taking out loans. ETAN (www.etan.org) is a 20-year old U.S.-based group working in solidarity with the people of Timor-Leste. Additional
background on Timor-Leste and borrowing can be found in -end- see also
Grupu Mundu Tomak Husu Timór-Leste ne’ebe la iha tusan atu la Debe Tusan pendente bele ameasa Timór nia Futuru Komunikadu Imprensa Kontaktu: Juvinal Dias (La’o Hamutuk/Movimento Kontra Deve), +670-734-8703 ,juvinal@laohamutuk.org
John M. Miller (ETAN), +1-718-596-7668; john@etan.org 8 de Setembro de 2011 – Organizasaun Naun Governmental sira hosi Timór-Leste no internasional ohin husu ba “Governu Timór-Leste atu mantein nasaun ne’ebe livre hosi deve no hases-an hosi impresta osan hosi kreditor internasional sira no mos atu proteze jerasaun futuru.” Grupu sira ne’e argumenta katak “infez ita repete erru sira ne’ebé nasaun sub-dezenvolvida sira komete iha pasadu, iha ne’ebé sira luta ona durante dekade barak nia laran, Timór-Leste tenki aprende hosi esperiénsia hirak ne’e, ne’ebé dala barak lori naha todan ba sira nia emar sira. Karta ida ne’e mos fo hanoin katak maski Timór-Leste iha riku soin petróleum ohin loron, “wainhira Timór-Leste nia mina no gas hotu iha menus de tinan 15 nia laran, no ita sei nafatin tenki selu fila fali tusan, ita nia oan no bei-oan sira sei sofre hosi konsekuensia hirak ne’e.” Karta ida ne’e inisia hosi Movimentu Kontra Deve iha Timór-Leste (fasilita hosi La’o Hamutuk), no East Timór and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) ne’ebe nia baze iha Estadus Unidus da Amerika (EUA). Statementu kompletu iha Tetum no Inglesh hamutuk ho organizasaun sira ne’ebé asina bele hetan ihahttp://www.etan.org/news/2011/08debt.htm no http://www.laohamutuk.org/econ/debt/2011/11ETANMKDStmt5Sep2011.htm. Statementu ida ne’e
hetan suporta hosi organizasaun
Grupu 20 iha Timór-Leste mak asina statementu ne’e, inklui Institutu Timór-Leste ba Monitor no Analiza Dezenvolvimentu (La’o Hamutuk), Forum ONG, Front Estudante, Forum Lider Comunitario, Fundasaun Haburas no ETADEP. Organizasaun sira hosi Sudeste Asiatiku, vizinho Timór-Leste nian, inklui WALHI - Friends of the Earth Indonesia, Freedom from Debt Coalition ¬ Philippines, International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) and EARTH (Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand). Organizasaun seluk ne’ebe asina, inklui grupu sira ne’ebé advoka ba dezenvolvimentu sustentavel, mos suporta povo Timór-Leste iha tempu naruk nia laran, hanesan Jubilee EUA, International Platform of Jurists for East Timor, Oil Change International (EUA), Aidwatch (Australia), Friends of the Earth U.S., Bank Information Center (EUA), Tapol (Inglatera), CAFOD (Inglatera), Japan East Timor Coalition, and the Free East Timor Foundation (VOT, Utrecht, Olanda). Rendimentu hosi mina-rai no gas fornese 95% ba rendimentu estadu Timór-Leste nian, halo nasauin ida ne’e sai nudar nasaun ho nia dependensia ba petroleu ne’ebe as liu iha mundu. Maski Timór-Leste seidauk impresta osan hosi nasaun seluk, ka instituisaun finanseiru internasional, governu Timór-Leste aprova ona lei balu atu bele deve, inklui Lei Orçamentu e Gestão Financeira 2009, no mos revizaun Lei Fundu Petróleum, no Lei foun ba Divida Públiku. Lei rua ne’e hetan aprovasaun semana rua liu ba. Iha inísiu fulan Agostu, Website Banku Dezenvolvimentu Asiátiku (ADB) publika proposta deve hamutuk $8.15 millaun ba Timór-Leste atu hadi’a rede dalan nasional Timór-Leste nian. Movimentu Kontra Deve nudar koalisaun organizasaun sosiedade sivil ida iha Timór-Leste ne’ebé kontra Timór-Leste atu deve. ETAN (http://www/etan.org) mak organizasaun fo solidaridade ba povo Timór-Leste durante tinan 20 nia laran, ne’ebe nia base iha EUA. Ita-boot bele
nformasaun tan kona-ba Timor-Leste no deve iha -end- Statement Timor-Leste should remain debt-free We, the undersigned Timor-Leste and international organizations, urge the government of Timor-Leste to keep the nation debt-free and refrain from borrowing money from international lenders. We do not take this position to hold Timor-Leste back, but to protect its future generations. Rather than repeat the mistakes of other developing countries that have struggled with debt during recent decades, Timor-Leste should learn from their experiences, which often inflicted great hardships on their people. This is especially important because of Timor-Leste’s high dependence on exporting non-renewable oil and gas wealth, a resource which will run out soon.
More than thirty years ago, lenders made loans to developing countries, creating unsustainable debt and causing the "debt crises" of the 1980s and 1990s. Today, creditors continue to drain scarce resources that could have been spent on essential services like health care, education, water and sanitation. International financial institutions - like the IMF and the World Bank - forced countries which owed them money to implement so-called austerity measures, demanding cuts in public services in order to repay debt. This has included the privatization of state services like water and electricity. The poorest and most vulnerable members of society have been forced to pay more for essential services, and salaries of public servants have been lowered. Even when loans are made at concessional interest rates, borrowing countries are often legally obligated to prioritize debt payments above their people's needs. Some argue that revenue from Timor-Leste’s oil and gas wealth can provide a cushion against which to borrow. History proves such thinking is wrong. The more oil a country produces and the greater its dependence on petroleum exports, the more debt that country is likely to accumulate – and Timor-Leste today is the most petroleum-export-dependent country in the world, with oil and gas providing 95% of state revenues. Oil prices and interest rates are very volatile and beyond Timor-Leste’s control, leaving it especially at risk, as petroleum revenues will decline and interest rates may rise while loans are still being paid back. When Timor-Leste's oil and gas run out in less than 15 years, and debts still must be repaid, Timor-Leste’s children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences. In most developing countries with oil resources, worsening economic and development conditions with little long term benefit are the result, including increased conflict, impoverishment, and corruption. Timor-Leste should avoid such a tragedy by learning from other’s experiences, not repeating them. The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste began life in 2002 without owing money to anyone. For the sake of an equitable, prosperous, and environmentally sound future for today’s and tomorrow’s children Timor-Leste should remain debt-free. We urge Timor-Leste’s leaders and international institutions to use other ways to finance the country’s much-needed development.
or make a monthly pledge via credit card Timor-Leste tenke nafatin livru ho deve. Ami ne’ebé asina iha karik, representa hosi organizasaun nasional no internasional, husu ba Governu Timór-Leste atu manteín nafatin Timór-Leste nudar nasaun ne’ebé livre hosi deve, no hases-an hosi deve osan hosi keditor internasional sira. Ami foti pozisaun ne’e la’os atu lori dada fali Timór-Leste mai kotuk, maibé atu proteze ninia jerasaun futuru. Infez ita repete erru sira ne’ebé nasaun sub-dezenvolvida sira komete iha pasadu, iha ne’ebé sira luta ona durante dekade barak nia laran, Timór-Leste tenki aprende hosi esperiénsia hirak ne’e, ne’ebé dala barak lori naha todan ba sira nia emar sira. Ida ne’e importante tebes tanba Timór-Leste nia dependensia ba exportasaun riku soin mina no gas as tebes, no rekursu ida ne’e sei hotu iha tempo badak. tempo badak. Tinan tolu nulu liu ba, kreditor sira fo tusan ba nasaun sub-dezenvolvido sira, kria deve ne’ebé la sustentavel no sai kauza ba “Krize Deve” iha dekade 1980 no dekade 1990. Ohin loron, kreditor sira kontinua atu foti hotu rekursu oit’oan ne’ebé bele uza lori fornese asistensia sosiáis hanesan saúde, edukasaun, be mós no saneamento. Instituisoens internasional – hanesan FMI no Banku Mundial – obriga nasaun sira ne’ebé tusan ba sira atu implementa saida mak sira bolu austerity measures, lori obriga nasaun sira ne’ebé deve ba sira atu hamenus asistensia publiku atu bele selu fila-fali sira nia tusan. Ida ne’e inklui mós privatizasaun ba asistensia estadu nian hanesan be mos no eletrisidade. Membro sosiedade ne’ebé vulneravel no kiak liu hetan obrigasaun atu selu asistensia sira ne’e barak liu no salariu offisiais publiku ne’ebé tun los. Maski deve ne’e nia funan ki’ik, nasaun ne’ebé deve dala barak iha obrigasaun legal atu fo prioridade liu atu selu fila fali tusan antes gastus ba nesesidade basiku nian. Ema balu argumenta katak rendimentu hosi Timór-Leste nia mina no gas bele hamenus risku hirak hosi deve ne’e. Maibé istoria prova katak hanoin hanesan ne’e sala. Nasaun ida ne’ebé produz no depende ba exportasaun mina as liu, nasaun ne’e akumula tusan barak liu – no Timór-Leste ohin loron hanesan nasaun ho ninia dependensia ba exportasaun mina as liu iha mundu, e mina no gas fornese 95% hosi rendimentu estadu nian. Folin mina no ninia funan iha merkadu internasional muda hosi tempo ba tempo, no Timór-Leste labele kontrola situasaun ne’e. Situasaun ida ne’e hanesan risku boot ida, tanba rendimentu hosi petroleu sei tun no tusan nia funan karik sei sa’e wainhira ita sei selu hela tusan. Wainhira Timór-Leste nia mina no gas hotu iha menus de tinan 15 nia laran, no ita sei nafatin tenki selu fila fali tusan, ita nia oan no bei-oan sira sei sofre hosi konsekuensia hirak ne’e. Iha nasaun sub-dezenvolvido ho rekursu mina, kondisaun ekonomia no dezenvolvimentu rezulta benefisiu ba tempo naruk ne’ebé oit’oan, inklui konflitu, kiak, no korupsaun. Timór-Leste tenki hases’an hosi trajedia ida ne’e hodi aprende hosi esperiensia nasaun seluk, e la’os atu repete erru sira ne’e. Republika Demokratika de Timór-Leste komesa moris iha 2002 sim deve hosi ema seluk. Ho razaun justisa, prosperioudade no futuru ne’ebé diak liu ba oan sira ohin loron no iha futuru, ita presiza liu dalan seluk atu hetan osan ba dezenvolvimentu. |
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Don't Let the Bankers Occupy Dili!
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