DILI, 11 November 2019 (TATOLI) – Australia is set to spread lessons from its “tough” border protection regime to neighbouring Timor-Leste, after bilateral talks in Melbourne.
Interim Interior Minister, Filomeno Paixão de Jesus met his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton Thursday, on the sidelines of the ‘No Money for Terror’ international conference.
Mr Paixão said the pair discussed training for members of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL), the Maritime Police Unit (UPM) the F-FDTL Naval Force to strengthen the country’s borders.
He said the Australians identified four priorities for development:
– training for PNTL and F-FDTL members to “professionalise” and “modernise” the forces;
– adminstrative management training for civil servants at the Ministries of Interior and Defense;
– enhancing women’s participation, protecting vulnerable people as well as combatting martial arts groups (MAGS);
– and strengthening the Timor’s intelligence services, criminal investigation and justice to better detect and prevent the illegal entry of goods, human trafficking and money laundering.
“In addition to this, because they are a maritime force, both [agreed] to conduct war exercises and to patrol together in the future,” the minister said.
The Minister said he was “deeply grateful” for the support, and said the two nations would now work on a Memorandum of Understanding to formalise the agreement
Mr Paixão said the training was an important step in preparing Timor-Leste forces to join peacekeeping missions with the United Nations (UN).
Australia’s conservative government implemented the military-led ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’ in 2013 in an effort to “combat people smuggling” and prevent asylum seekers reaching the country by boat.
The policy has been lauded by other conservative leaders, such as US President Donald Trump. But rights groups such at the UNHCR have repeatedly called for the country to abandon its “offshore processing” regime.
Australia’s ‘alert’ for countries fighting terrorism
Timor-Leste attended the international ‘No Money for Terror’ conference last week as an official observer, and guest of Australia’s Home Affairs Department.
“The unfortunate truth about terrorism is that it’s insidious and it’s amorphous. It is difficult to completely eradicate ideologies which place no value on human life, do not act rationally, and which increasingly exist only in the shadows,” Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told the conference.
“We must starve these vile individuals and groups of the resources they require to do us harm,” he said.
Minister Paixão said it was important to gain a “deeper understanding” of the way terrorists finance their activities.
“Today, terrorists influence not just the Middle East, but Europe, Indonesia and [they] will arrive in our country. This is why the international community should work together to create a strategy to prevent terrorism,” said the Minister.
“We all know that terrorism is a violent activity [that] radicalised groups use to create instability and to achieve their political goals and ideology. We will not allow the potential radicalisation of our young people. We will not let this happen,” he said.
The conference was attended by representatives from across the globe, the IMF, and ASEAN.
Reporter: Eugénio Pereira
Editors: Francisco Simões; Robert Baird
Translation: Robert Baird
Links to original Tetum version(s): Austrália Prontu Kapasita Timor-oan ba Protesaun Fronteira
