Bits N Pieces

JRH returns on Thursday from Darwin. I would imagine there will be very large crowds at the airport and on the road to his house to welcome him back. I hope he appreciates the work that has gone on between Pig Bridge and his house. It took me 45minutes on Saturday morning to get from the bridge to the JRH turnoff. Good job nobody needed an ambulance this time!

A couple of things have caught my eye recently:
Government to buy warships – Suara Timor Lorosae
The State Secretary for Defence, Julio Thomas Pinto, said the Government has decided to buy warships for the F-FDTL Navy to control illegal fishing activities in the coastal area of Timor-Leste."The Government through the department of Defence has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a Chinese company, Poly Technology, to start ship construction for F-FDTL," said Mr. Pinto after signing the MOU on Saturday (12/4) in the Government Palace, Dili.Mr. Pinto also said that the construction will be started next month and will finish in the following year."Once the MOU is implemented, 30 F-FDTL members will receive training from Chinese shipping companies in China," added Mr. Pinto. (STL)

Klemm: The 'State of Siege and State of Emergency' are the right ways to solve the problems – Diario Nacional
The American Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Hans Klemm, said that the Government of Timor-Leste has shown a great patience during the implementation of the 'State of Siege' and 'State of Emergency'."I hope that through the 'State of Siege' and 'State of Emergency', Salsinha and his men will surrender themselves peacefully to justice so that their problems will be sorted out as quickly as possible," Ambassador Klemm said.
My understanding of international diplomacy is that if you do not like a country you are stationed in the surest way to get a transfer is to meddle in internal politics.


The Dili Weekly has done it again with a couple of great headlines:

Small, old Indonesian flag in mango tree causes stir.
and
Despite state of siege district life continues as normal, except for odd kidnapping in Maubisse.

The editorial by Jesse Wright is also spot on, again.

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